91Ó°ÊÓ

Enzymes are the biological catalysts responsible for accelerating the rate of any biochemical reaction.

International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) has adopted a scheme for the systematic functional classification and nomenclature of enzymes.

According to IUBMB, enzymes are classified into six classes based on the type of reaction they catalyze.They are as follows:

1. Oxidoreductases
2. Transferases
3. Hydrolases
4. Lyases
5. Isomerases
6. Ligases

In the systematic naming of enzymes, the name of the substrate is followed by a suffix –ase to the reaction that the enzyme catalyzes.

For example, Pyruvate dehydrogenase is the enzyme used for catalyzing the oxidation of pyruvate to acetyl CoA. Here, pyruvate is the substrate, and the suffix -ase is added to the name of the reaction it catalyzes (dehydrogenation).