question_answer 98)

  Why are certain drugs called enzyme inhibitors ?

Answer:

                  Ezymes have active sites which bind the substrate for carrying out chemical reactions quickly and effectively. The functional groups present at the active site of enzyme interact with functional groups of substrate" through ionic bonding, hydrogen bonding, van der Waals interactions, etc. Some drugs interfere with this interaction by blocking the binding site of enzyme thereby preventing the binding of actual substrate with the enzyme. As a result, catalytic activity of enzyme is inhibited and the drugs which inhibit the catalytic activity of enzymes are called inhibitors.