How Is Hydrogen Peroxide Made In The Body And What Would Happen To You If It Were Not Broken Down

Actually the formation of hydrogen peroxide in cells is an attempt by the body to protect itself from an even more dangerous substance superoxide.

How is hydrogen peroxide made in the body and what would happen to you if it were not broken down. Transgenic mice lacking mitochondrial superoxide dismutase suffer severe pulmonary and neurological damage indicating the essentiality of removing intra mitochondrial o 2 in vivo 36 37 38. Hydrogen peroxide is a waste product produced during respiration. Hydrogen peroxide is also directly produced by a range of oxidase enzymes including glycollate and monoamine oxidases as well as by the peroxisomal pathway for β oxidation of fatty acids. Hydrogen peroxide naturally breaks down to water and oxygen but very slowly.

It is a hard working enzyme that deactivates millions of hydrogen peroxide molecules every second. To protect itself the body makes catalase the enzyme that decomposes hydrogen peroxide before it can form hydroxyl radicals. The hydrogen peroxide is broken down so that it cannot be dangerous anymore into water which is given off when you perspire and into oxygen which can be given off when you exhale. Hydrogen peroxide is produced in your cells as they make energy in cellular respiration.

It can break apart to yield hydroxyl radicals that attack important biochemicals like proteins and dna. Hydrogen peroxide h 2 o 2 is widely regarded as a cytotoxic agent whose levels must be minimized by the action of antioxidant defence enzymes. If the cell is part of a larger multicellular organism then this might harm the whole individual. Because of its instability hydrogen peroxide is typically stored with a stabilizer in a weakly acidic solution in a dark colored bottle.

Catalase is part of almost every living cell. If hydrogen peroxide was not broken down it could damage your cells. The catalase enzyme in yeast and other materials such as potato and liver speeds up the reaction greatly. Also i need a complete balanced chemical equation for the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in the cell.

There are four identical protein subunits that make up the catalase enzyme. How is hydrogen peroxide made in our body and why must it be broken down. For example in liver cells the toxic chemical hydrogen peroxide must be broken down into the. Oxygen is a double edged sword.

In fact h 2 o 2 is poorly reactive in the absence of transition metal ions. Hydrogen peroxide is produced to kill off dangerous bacteria. Enzymes that use or decompose hydrogen peroxide are classified as peroxidases. The breakdown of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen is catalysed by catalase enzymes in plants and animals.

Hydrogen peroxide is unstable and slowly decomposes in the presence of light.