Biochemistry is

THEORETICAL ISSUES CONSIDERED IN LECTURES AND LABORATORY ACTIVITIES

Theme 1. Introduction to the course of biochemistry

1. Biochemistry, its subject, the main parts of biochemistry.

2. A brief historical background on the development of biochemistry.

3. Fundamental and applied research in the biochemistry of sports.

Biological chemistry - This is the science of the chemistry of life, the science of the chemical composition of living matter, of the chemical processes that occur in living organisms and underlie their vital functions.

Biochemistry is a biological science that makes extensive use of physicochemical research methods. Biochemistry studies the chemical nature of the substances that make up living organisms and their transformation.

The objects of biochemistry are microorganisms, plants, animals, people. Depending on the objects of study, modern biochemistry is divided into sections: biochemistry - animals, plants, microorganisms, medical, radiation, space, technical.

Biochemistry is taking shape in three parts.

1. Static biochemistry. It studies the qualitative and quantitative composition of tissues, organs, body fluids.

Example: a person weighing 70 kg contains 42 kg of water, 14 kg of protein, 10 kg of fat, 3.3 kg of nucleic acids, 0.7 kg of carbohydrates.

Example: qualitative and quantitative composition of hemoglobin protein (C₇₃₈H₁₁₆₆O₂₀₈N₂₀₃S₂Fe)_4.

2. Dynamic biochemistry.It studies the chemical reactions that take place in a living organism in the process of life, it studies the metabolism with the environment, the conversion of chemical compounds and the energy transformations interconnected with them.

Example: enzymatic hydrolysis of starch. Experience that allows us to trace the action of one enzyme - amylase, which accelerates the hydrolysis of starch (the main carbohydrate in food).

Experience: 1st cylinder: 0.1% starch solution + 2-3 drops of Lugol reagent (I₂ in KI) - we get a blue stain (gives starch with iodine).

2nd cylinder: 0.1% starch solution + human saliva solution (rinse mouth) + 2-3 drops of Lugol's reagent - we get a yellow color (or orange, violet - depending on which dextrins formed).

The essence of experience: under the action of the biocatalyst - the amylase enzyme - starch polysaccharide is hydrolyzed into fragments (dextrins) of different lengths, which give a different color with the Lugol reagent. Similarly, there is a breakdown of starch in the oral cavity when chewing food.

Dynamic biochemistry is the youngest branch of biochemistry. She studies the transformation of those substances that enter the body.

3. Functional biochemistry.

It studies the chemical reactions that occur in the manifestation of the functions of individual organs and tissues, as well as the body as a whole, finds out the connections between the structure of certain compounds of living cells and processes, their modifications, and also finds out the connections between the structure of specialized cells and their function.

The division of biochemistry into three parts is purely arbitrary. They are all intertwined with each other.

The term "chemistry" comes from Egypt. Chemistry is a province in Ancient Egypt. Mummification and dyeing work was carried out here. In Egypt, processes were developed to find the composition of mummification (Avicenna's work).

From the 4th to the 16th century, alchemy dominated - Arabic chemistry. Alchemists searched for a “philosopher's stone” (turning everything into gold), then a “panacea” (a liquid with which you can create a person - a homunculus) and an elixir of health from all diseases. Later (16th - 17th century), iatrochemistry - medical chemistry (representative - Paracelsus) was developed.

From the middle of the 18th century, the foundation of scientific chemistry was laid (founder - M.V. Lomonosov, 1711 - 1765). By the mid-18th century, some organic substances were discovered (urea, citric acid, cholesterol, etc.).

Vitalists (Berzelius) then believed that it was impossible to synthesize organic substances, they saw in everything a supernatural beginning. Wöller, a student of Berzelius, proved in 1828 that urea is the result of the conversion of substances in a living organism, it can be obtained from inorganic substances.

Weller Experience:

NH₄ - O - C ≡ N NH₂ - C - NH₂

Ammonium cyanate || urea

A rearrangement of atoms occurred inside the molecule during heating.

Urea is a complete amide of carbonic acid. This is the final product of protein metabolism in the body. During the day, the human body secretes about 30 g of urea (with urine and sweat).

Woeller’s work on the synthesis of urea dealt a blow to vitalism. The era of the synthesis of organic substances has come.

Biochemistry as a science took shape in the second half of the 19th century. It arose at the intersection of organic chemistry and plant physiology. In 1863, the first department of biochemistry at Kazan University was created in Russia (A.Ya.Danilevsky was in charge). In 1867, was published in Kharkov by Professor A. Khodnev. first textbook ("Textbook of physiological chemistry"). In 1867, the first congress of natural scientists and doctors was held. In 1891, the first biochemical laboratory was created in St. Petersburg (under the leadership of M.V. Nentsky). In 1920, the first biochemistry research institute was established in Moscow. Now this is the Institute of Biochemistry. A.N. Baha, for a long time it was headed by A.I. Oparin, later - V.A. Engelhardt, I.M. Berezin, B.F. Poglazov.

Scientists A. A. Danilevsky, A. N. Bakh, V. A. Engelhardt, M. V. Nentsky, N. I. Lunin, M. S. Tsvet, I. P. Pavlov made a great contribution to the development of domestic biochemistry , D.N. Pryanishnikov, A.V. Palladin, A.N. Belozersky, D.L. Ferdman, N.M. Sissakyan, Yu.A. Ovchinnikov, A.A. Baev, A.S. Spirin, S .E. Severin, V.P. Skulachev, Yu.B. Filippovich.

Basic research in the biochemistry of sports is focused on the study of the general laws of metabolism in the process of sports activities. These studies focus primarily on the following issues:

• mechanisms of energy conversion in the human body during muscle activity,

• regulation of protein synthesis during exercise,

• mechanisms of nervous and humoral regulation of metabolism during muscle activity,

• patterns of biochemical adaptation to systematic muscle activity.

Applied biochemical research in sports is closely related to the solution of scientific and methodological problems of training highly qualified athletes. Among the most important issues addressed in these studies, the following should be noted:

• identification and assessment of biochemical factors that limit the level of sports achievements,

• study of biochemical changes in athletes in the process of training sessions,

• study of biochemical characteristics of recovery processes after competitive and training loads,

• study of the biochemical foundations of endurance, speed-strength qualities of an athlete and methods from development,

• study of biochemical characteristics of various sports,

• study of the biochemical characteristics of a growing and aging organism in the process of engaging in physical activity,

• study of biochemical fundamentals of athlete nutrition.

The solution of these problems will significantly improve the management of athletes training and achieve a higher level of sports achievements. Due to the decoding of the human genome and the official formation of sports genetics, biochemistry also gained momentum in its development.

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The community of all living things

Evidence consists of several basic features of living organisms:

• the need for nutrition (energy consumption and its transformation inside the body),
• respiration requirements (biological oxidation),
• reproductive ability
• growth and development throughout the life cycle.

Any of these processes is represented in the body by a mass of chemical reactions. Every second, inside any living creature, much less a person, hundreds of reactions of synthesis and decay of organic molecules take place. The structure, characteristics of the chemical effect, interaction with each other, synthesis, decay and construction of new structures of molecules of organic and inorganic structure - all this is the subject of a large, interesting and diverse science. Biochemistry is a young progressive field of knowledge that studies all the chemical processes taking place inside living things.

The object of studying biochemistry is only living organisms and all the processes of life that occur in them. Specifically, chemical reactions that occur during the absorption of food, the allocation of waste products, growth and development. So, the basis of biochemistry is the study of:

1. Non-cellular life forms - viruses.
2. Prokaryotic bacterial cells.
3. Higher and lower plants.
4. Animals of all known classes.
5. Human body.

At the same time, biochemistry itself is a fairly young science that arose only with the accumulation of a sufficient amount of knowledge about internal processes in living beings. Its emergence and isolation dates back to the second half of the 19th century.

Modern sections of biochemistry

At the present stage of development, biochemistry includes several main sections, which are presented in the table.

It studies the chemical reactions that underlie the interconversion of molecules within the body.

Metabolites - simple molecules and their derivatives, resulting from the exchange of energy, monosaccharides, fatty acids, nucleotides, amino acids

It studies the chemical composition inside organisms and the structure of molecules

Vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, amino acids, nucleotides, lipids, hormones

He is engaged in the study of absorption, accumulation and conversion of energy in living biological systems.

One of the sections of dynamic biochemistry

It studies the details of all physiological processes of the body

Nutrition and digestion, respiration, regulation of acid-base balance, muscle contractions, nerve impulse conduction, regulation of the liver and kidneys, the action of the immune and lymphatic systems and so on

Medical biochemistry (human biochemistry)

It studies the processes of metabolism in the human body (in healthy organisms and in diseases)

Animal experiments allow us to develop pure cultures of pathogenic bacteria that cause disease in humans and find ways to combat them

Thus, we can say that biochemistry is a whole complex of small sciences that encompass the whole variety of complex internal processes of living systems.

Affiliated sciences

Over time, so much different knowledge has accumulated and so many scientific skills have been formed that process research results, remove bacterial colonies, replicate DNA and RNA, integrate known parts of the genome with desired properties, and so on, that there is a need for additional sciences that are subsidiary to biochemistry . These are sciences such as:

• molecular biology,
• Genetic Engineering,
• gene surgery
• molecular genetics
• Enzymology
• immunology,
• molecular biophysics.

Each of these areas of knowledge has a lot of achievements in the study of bioprocesses in living biological systems, therefore it is very important. All of them belong to the sciences of the 20th century.

The reasons for the intensive development of biochemistry and daughter sciences

In 1958, the Koran discovered the gene and its structure, after which the genetic code was deciphered in 1961. Then the structure of the DNA molecule was established — a double-stranded structure capable of reduplication (self-reproduction). All the subtleties of metabolic processes (anabolism and catabolism) were described, the tertiary and quaternary structure of the protein molecule was studied. And this is not a complete list of the 20th century's grandiose discoveries, which form the basis of biochemistry. All these discoveries belong to biochemists and science itself. Therefore, the prerequisites for its development are many. There are several modern reasons for its dynamism and intensity in formation.

1. The foundations of the majority of chemical processes occurring in living organisms are revealed.
2. The principle of unity is formulated in most physiological and energy processes for all living things (for example, they are the same in bacteria and humans).
3. Medical biochemistry provides the key to treating a host of various complex and dangerous diseases.
4. With the help of biochemistry, it became possible to get to the solution of the most global issues of biology and medicine.

Hence the conclusion: biochemistry is a progressive, important and very broadly spectral science that allows you to find answers to many questions of humanity.

Biochemistry in Russia

In our country, biochemistry is the same progressive and important science as in the whole world. In Russia, the Institute of Biochemistry named after A. N. Bach RAS, Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms named after G.K. Scriabin RAS, Research Institute of Biochemistry SB RAS. Our scientists play a large role and many merits in the history of the development of science. For example, the method of immunoelectrophoresis, glycolysis mechanisms was discovered, the principle of nucleotide complementarity in the structure of a DNA molecule was formulated, and a number of other important discoveries were made. At the end of the XIX and the beginning of the XX century. basically, not whole institutes were formed, but the department of biochemistry in some of the universities. However, it soon became necessary to expand the space for studying this science in connection with its intensive development.

Biochemical processes of plants

Plant biochemistry is inextricably linked with physiological processes. In general, the subject of the study of biochemistry and plant physiology is:

• vital activity of a plant cell,
• photosynthesis,
• breath,
• water regime of plants,
• mineral nutrition
• crop quality and physiology of its formation,
• plant resistance to pests and adverse environmental conditions.

Importance for Agriculture

Knowledge of the underlying processes of biochemistry in plant cells and tissues can improve the quality and quantity of crops of cultivated agricultural plants, which are mass producers of important food products for all of humanity. In addition, the physiology and biochemistry of plants can find ways to solve the problems of pest infection, plant resistance to adverse environmental conditions, make it possible to improve the quality of crop production.

1. The subject and objectives of biochemistry

Biological chemistry is a science that studies the chemical composition of living organisms and the chemical processes that underlie their life.

It can be divided into 2 main sections:

Static biochemistry - studies the chemical composition of living organisms (the subject of its study is the structure, properties and functions of proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, nucleotides, vitamins and other vital substances).

Dynamic biochemistry - considers the conversion of chemicals in living organisms (the subject of its study is metabolic processes).

Biochemistry is part of biology, covering those areas that require physical, chemical and chemical approaches, techniques and methods to study the vital processes. The peculiarity of biochemistry follows from its name, which indicates the chemical essence of this science, as well as the importance for it of functional (biological) studies of chemical processes.

Historically, biochemistry is connected by family ties with organic chemistry, which studies the chemical properties of the substances that make up living matter, and physiology, which studies the functions of living organisms.

Since the chemical substances and chemical processes of living matter determine many functions of the body, initially organic chemistry was a kind of chemical division of physiology. The physiology of the cell, the simplest living system, essentially deals with the description of cellular functions from the standpoint of physical chemistry and is close to biochemistry. It is no accident that the terms “physiological chemistry” and “biochemistry” were used as equivalent concepts.

Having arisen at the junction of related disciplines, biochemistry at the same time did not become a kind of mechanical combination of chemistry and physiology. Undoubtedly, it has much in common with chemical disciplines, such as organic and physical chemistry, this especially applies to the methods used to study natural substances, but biochemistry and chemical sciences have different tasks. For organic and physical chemistry, of particular interest is the structure and properties of chemical compounds, for example, their electronic structure, bond order and mechanism of its formation, isomerism, conformation, etc., the information about which these sciences derive using special methods of chemistry and physical chemistry. Whereas the main thing for biochemistry is to clarify the functional purpose of all chemicals and physico-chemical processes in a living organism, as well as the mechanism of violation of these functions in various diseases.

Biochemistry owes its formation to many related sciences and still maintains a close relationship with them in the study of wildlife.At the same time, it remains an original and independent science, the task of which is to study the relationship between the structure of substances and their functions, the conversion of chemical compounds in a living organism, the method of energy conversion in living systems, the mechanisms of regulation of chemical transformations and physico-chemical processes in cells, tissues and organs, molecular mechanisms for the transfer of genetic information in living organisms, etc.