What role do enzymes play in metabolic reactions?

Enzymes serve as biological catalysts in metabolic reactions, which means their primary function is to significantly speed up chemical reactions by lowering the activation energy required for those reactions to occur. This is essential because many metabolic processes, such as digestion and energy production, would occur very slowly without the presence of enzymes, making them inefficient and inadequate for the needs of living organisms.

Each enzyme is specific to a particular substrate due to its unique active site, allowing it to facilitate complex biochemical reactions with high efficiency. By lowering the activation energy, enzymes make it easier for the reactants to reach the transition state, leading to faster formation of products. This catalytic function is critical for maintaining the pace of metabolic activity and enabling vital life processes to occur under the mild conditions present in biological systems.