Question

Are antibiotics enzyme inhibitors?

Answer 1

Antibiotics are antimicrobial substances that inhibit the action of bacteria. It is a type of antibacterial agent that defends the body against a bacterial agent. Antibiotics are used to prevent various bacterial infections.

Complete answer:
Enzymes are catalysts that increase the rate of a reaction without itself getting involved in the reaction. They are highly specific and get easily deactivated at high temperatures and changes in pH. Enzymes consist of an active site that binds a specific substrate which has its matching epitopes with the enzyme. For an enzyme to catalyze a reaction, a substrate binds to its active site that activates the enzyme. Various inhibitors regulate the activity of enzymes as many compounds bind to the active site of the enzyme covalently and inactivate it. Some of the antibiotics work in this manner. They bind to the active site of the enzyme, effectively inhibiting the various types of an enzyme that promote bacterial growth. For example, Penicillin functions by inhibiting the production of the cell wall in the bacteria. It binds to the active site of the enzyme transpeptidase which is responsible for synthesizing the cell wall in gram-positive bacteria. Penicillin inhibits the cell wall formation and the defective cell wall causes the bacterial cell to burst and die.

Note:
All antibiotics are not inhibitors of the enzyme. Some drugs such as methotrexate are a widely used example of a competitive inhibitor for folic acid. It competes with folic acid to bind to the active site of the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase and prevents the regeneration of dihydrofolate from tetrahydrofolate.