Enzymes and certain good bacteria are our allies.
These are natural active ingredients that maintain the biological balance of the home.
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​What are enzymes?
These are proteins that speed up reactions between molecules.
Are they living organisms, like bacteria ?
No, they are not living organisms but they are produced by living microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi or yeast.
​What is it for ?
Enzymes are found everywhere in Nature: it is thanks to them that reactions between molecules occur, they are responsible for more than 5,000 reactions in the cell. They speed up most reactions by a factor of more than 1,000.
​They are essential for cellular life, digestion, cell energy, muscle contraction, respiration, etc
​For example, in ruminants, bacteria in the intestine produce an enzyme, cellulase, which digests plant cellulose. Another example, certain diseases such as gout or phenylketonuria are caused by the absence or dysfunction of an enzyme in the body.
​What are their advantages ?
​Enzymes have 4 properties that make them players in the ecosystem essential to life.
1
A catalytic property
An enzyme speeds up a chemical reaction. It is found intact at the end of the reaction. We speak of a biocatalyst to recall the fact that an enzyme is produced by a living organism.
2
A low concentration action
A very small amount of enzymes is enough to catalyze the reaction.
3
A really fast action
An enzymatic reaction lasts a thousandth of a second. One of the most efficient enzymes known to date in Nature, involved in the synthesis of the basic elements of DNA and RNA, accelerates this reaction which takes place in 18 milliseconds rather than 78 millions of years !
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4
A natural action
An action under conditions of life on earth (temperature, pressure, acidity, etc.), thus limiting the need for additional energy for the reaction to occur.
What are they used for in cleaning products ?
Enzymes are very useful for speeding up the effectiveness of ingredients – this is called catalysis.
They allow a faster and a more complete cleaning without residue. For instance, they allow effective cleaning at low temperatures as for the laundry detergent.
What function are they used for in cleaning products?
In cleaning products, enzymes can be used for all types of dirt.
There is generally a suitable enzyme for each molecule concerned. Examples, enzymes that accelerate the destruction of grease stains (lipids) are lipases, enzymes that accelerate the destruction of blood stains (proteins) are proteases.
Enzymes break stains and dirt into water-soluble microparticles.