Inhibition

• Reversible Inhibitors
• Irreversible Inhibitors

The rate of enzyme catalyzed reactions is also affected by the presence of inhibitors, which are compounds that combine with the enzyme thereby lowering its efficiency. Inhibitors do not necessarily destroy all of the enzymes activity. The inhibitors can be divided into two groups on the basis of the kind of interaction which occurs between the enzyme and the inhibitor. Covalent inhibitors are often referred to as irreversible inhibitors or known as inactivators and react covalently with the enzyme to lower its efficiency. We will return to the irreversible inhibitors later, but few of these occur naturally, so for now lets discuss the reversible or noncolvalent inhibitors.

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