What is an enzyme?
An enzyme is a substance that can catalyze or inhibit a specific chemical reaction. They are a huge family with a complex mechanism of action. Their chemical essence is mainly protein (non-protein ribozymes have also been found in recent years), and they are active.
This seems a little hard to understand. Ok, for example: you are driving on the edge of the last street, and the chassis is low, so it takes a lot of effort to get up. There is a kind-hearted children's shoe, triangular slope, which can be opened in an instant, fast and good.
If the behavior of driving down the street is regarded as a chemical reaction, the slope of this triangle is an enzyme. As an organism, human beings are essentially composed of chemical elements, and human life must depend on thousands of chemical reactions that occur all the time, and basically all biochemical reactions are regulated by specific enzymes.
There are several points about enzymes that must be explained clearly:
Enzyme is not a substance, but a substance. There are thousands of enzymes involved in human life activities.
Each enzyme has a specific function, which is called the functional specificity of the enzyme. According to their functions, enzymes can be further divided into six categories: synthesis, transfer, isomerization, hydrolysis, cracking and redox. For example, an enzyme that removes CO2 from an acid cannot add CO2 to the acid; Enzymes that hydrolyze collagen can not promote the synthesis of collagen;
The target of the enzyme is specific. For example, the enzyme responsible for sugar treatment cannot treat protein.
The conditions and places of action of enzymes are specific, for example, gastric/pancreatic proteolytic enzymes that act in the digestive tract will not work in the blood; At a certain temperature, the enzyme is active, and when the temperature rises to a certain range, the enzyme is inactivated or even dead (denatured).
What exactly are the enzymes on the market now?
As can be seen from the above knowledge, the "enzyme" in the market is not necessarily an enzyme, but a commercial concept, which borrows scientific concepts and becomes very technical and scientific. I have seen some ingredient lists of this kind of products, which generally include the following ingredients:
Various plant extracts
Fermentation bacteria (such as lactobacillus and streptococcus thermophilus, used to make yogurt)
Various trace elements
Some dietary fiber and prebiotics (can promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in the intestine, and have the functions of relaxing bowels, diminishing inflammation and losing weight).
Some enzymes that promote digestion, such as bromelain and cucurbitacin. For example: Sina visitor system
Um ... do you think these products are actually familiar? Yes, multivitamins, multivitamins ... Well, did you recognize me by putting on your vest again?
In fact, few enzymes work by oral administration. After consulting some literatures, it is found that some hemostatic enzymes can stop bleeding by oral administration. Proteolytic enzymes are used to promote intestinal digestion. However, these are for related patients, not for normal healthy people.
I made it myself. That's not an enzyme.
Some netizens mentioned the method of "self-made enzyme", one layer of fruit and one layer of sugar, pressed and sealed, and left for two weeks. Dear, this is called fermentation, not enzyme-although there is also the word "enzyme" in fermentation, enzymes will also play a role in the fermentation process. Some fermentation processes are participated or dominated by yeast, but what is fermented is not called enzyme.
The basic process of fermentation is usually to convert carbohydrates (sugar) into acids (usually lactic acid or acetic acid), carbon dioxide or alcohol. If this is called enzyme, we China people are ancestors: Have you ever eaten sauerkraut? Have you ever drunk aged rice wine? Have you ever eaten steamed bread, steamed stuffed bun or bread? Oh, and delicious kimchi!
If you add sugar to a pile of apples, oranges and pineapples and seal them for half a year, honey, it's not an enzyme, it's fruit mixed with sugar.
What is an enzyme? What's the role?
Of course, fermented foods are beneficial, however, they are completely different from enzymes. Fermented food is not always good. For example, the incidence of gastric cancer in Japan is the highest in the world, because … pickles.
Consumer suggestion
This article aims to help you understand what enzyme is and what enzyme food on the market is in essence, so as to avoid wasting more money because of the high-end atmospheric name "enzyme". For products that claim to be enzymes, don't ask if "this enzyme" has any effect. You have to know its ingredients before you know what it does, whether it suits you or not, and whether it is worth buying.
I'm not sure whether the regulations allow or prohibit the use of enzymes as food names, but I personally object to it, because firstly, it is not a standardized term, and secondly, it can't accurately describe the essence of products.
Regarding the use of external enzymes for beauty, protease is most commonly used to exfoliate and achieve the effect of softening and whitening skin (such as bromelain); Superoxide dismutase (SOD), lipolysis and tyrosinase (used to increase melanin) have some applications. However, other enzymes are not widely used because of their stability, cost and formula. There are also some yeast extracts (the reporter's famous sake mother-in-law), the composition is quite complex, not a single component. Actually, they are not enzymes, but fermentation products.