VPB 112: General Veterinary Biochemistry (1+1)

BIOCHEMISTRY

• Biochemistry is the science dealing with various molecules that are present in living cells and organisms and their chemical reactions.
• Life depends on biochemical reactions. The chemical processes that occur in living organisms are called as metabolism.
• Enzymes catalyze the metabolic reactions.
• Metabolism consists of two subdivisions called catabolism and anabolism.
• Catabolism refers to conversion of larger molecules into smaller molecules. Some of these reactions produce chemical energy that is captured as ATP.
• Anabolism refers to the conversion of small molecules into large ones during the process of biosynthesis. This process utilizes the ATP.
• The study of chemistry of life has shown that the basic principles of biochemistry are common to all living organisms.
• In general the same chemical compounds and the same metabolic processes are seen in bacteria and humans.
• The important aspects of biochemistry are
  • How a particular molecule is synthesized in the cell, its structural features, how the structure is related its function, the fate of those molecules in the body, how this molecule interacts with other molecules of the body and how the metabolism of these molecules is regulated.