What is the purpose of enzymes in biological reactions?

Enzymes play a crucial role in facilitating biological reactions by acting as catalysts. A catalyst is a substance that accelerates a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any permanent change. This means that enzymes lower the activation energy required for reactions to occur, allowing them to proceed more quickly and efficiently. By enabling reactions to occur at lower energy thresholds, enzymes help maintain the necessary rates of biochemical processes that are vital for life.

The function of enzymes is pivotal in various biological functions, including metabolism, DNA replication, and signal transduction. Enzymes are highly specific and typically only catalyze specific reactions involving particular substrates, thereby ensuring precision in metabolic pathways. This specificity and efficiency make them indispensable to sustaining life and facilitating metabolism within living organisms.

In contrast, providing substrates for reactions, increasing activation energy, or slowing down metabolic processes are not functions of enzymes. Instead, these actions are either unrelated to enzymatic activity or directly opposed to the role that enzymes serve in promoting and regulating biochemical reactions.