Why are catabolic/anabolic pathways dependent on enzymes?

Question

I thought enzymes only sped up a reaction that would happen anyways.

Yes, but could they occur anyways without enzymes?

Answer 1

enzymes are responsible for breaking down and building up things respectively in the two pathways

Answer 2

Yes, reactions that are exothermic can happen without the enzymes spontaneously, but this would not be practical. Imagine that you need to convert sugar into ATP, which is the energy currency of the cell, this process happens in milliseconds thanks to the different enzymes in our catabolic and anabolic pathways, but without these anzymes, some of them would take so long that you will die before a single molecule ends its first step. Remember that enzymes are proteins that have lots and lots of amino acids with different chemical groups "attached" to them to facilitate all of the atoms needed for reactions to take place at amazing speed. This process is perfectly designed by something that is not human. Given that it´s perfect.

Answer 3

You're right that enzymes only affect the rate of reaction, but that's very important. Obviously if your body needs a lot of a product produced by a specific pathway, you need enzymes to keep the reactions going at an appreciable rate.

Answer 4

Yes and yes, neither would occur without enzymes to carry out the chemical reaction process.

Answer 5

enzymes speed up the process of the reactions but they do not cause the reactions to use or require less energy