What we have just seen in this video are two examples of what is called protein denaturation , those substances that, along with fats and carbohydrates, make up everything we eat. Now, what are they for? Most of the proteins present in a plant, an animal or in ourselves act as catalysts ; that is, substances that make it possible for the many reactions that keep a being alive to take place :. They are also known as enzymes.
The best way to understand it is to imagine it is a necklace of beads: each of the beads is a molecule called amino acid , and all of them chained together make up the protein macromolecule . But that necklace has the peculiarity that it is folded in a certain very particular way that is perfectly adapted to the function they must perform. Thus, a protein that is in charge of joining two small molecules will be like a piece of a puzzle: it will have two holes where said compounds are placed, which are called substrates, which the enzyme will induce to join, even though this requires breaking a bond chemical and form a new one. That is the function of a catalyst.
Denaturation implies that proteins unwind, lose their structure. This can be done with heat, or by using an acid like vinegar, or with alcohol. When that happens, as in the case of casein in milk or those that exist in the yolk of the egg, its consistency changes – they coagulate – giving rise to the appearance that we have seen in the experiment.
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