Lexicon of Biochemical Reactions
Biochemical reactions—the interaction of two or more substances to produce another substance—are known as metabolism. It is these chemical processes that take place inside the cells of living organisms that provide the energy required to maintain life.
Introduction to the Lexicon
Professor JoAnne Stubbe introduces the Lexicon of Biochemical Reactions, which explains how the chemistry of vitamins works. In particular, she describes how vitamins provide the enzymes that act as catalysts in biochemical transformations.
Lexicon of Biochemical Reactions (PDF - 1.2MB)
Redox Cofactors
In this video, Professor Stubbe reviews oxidation and reduction and the cofactors that are involved in these transformations. She focuses on the two redox active cofactors Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) and Vitamin B3 (Niacin).
Vitamin B6 / PLP
This video focuses on another cofactor: Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine). This is the cofactor you use whenever you want to metabolize amino acids. We use amino acids to make fats or sugars depending on what the environment is telling us we need to do.
Cofactors Formed from Vitamin B12
Professor Stubbe refers to the cofactors formed from Vitamin B12 as “Nature’s most spectacularly beautiful cofactors.” These cofactors bind to the enzyme which plays a key role in the formation of red blood cells.
