Can someone help me with this please?? I really need help FAST and NOW!!!?

Question

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and don't answer if you don't know either.


Okay: Here is my question that I have to write a ten page report on:

"Select two plant or animal toxins and explain their chemical functions as enzymes".

Can someone explain this to me, because I have no idea of where to start and I have 4 days left...... Can someone help me out because I am stumped and it took me 3 making periods to pass this class once.

I am not asking you to do it for me but I really need to know how to start this. But if you can't help much I have another one to choose from. I don't know which one is easier, but if you would like to tell me, please do.

"Explain the biochemical similarity between the physiological state of the yogis in a hypometabolic state and the victims posioned by tetrodotoxin. How are these two ststes similar and different from hibernaation and aevestivation?"

Answer 1

I can give you 1 toxin example for your report:
Bufagin is toxic steroid, C24H34O5, found as a component of bufotoxin. It is obtained (in form of marinobufagin) from toad's milk, which refers to secretions from the Cane Toad (Bufo marinus), when it is injured, scared or provoked.
Its effects are similar to poisoning by digitalis, having an effect on the cardiac muscle, causing ventricular fibrillation. It has equally some local anesthetic action. The analgesic effect has also been proven (Wang, Sun et al. 1994), by acting as a Na+/K+-ATPase inhibitor on the binding sites of the cell membrane.

See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bufagin

Answer 2

In addition to the above answer, which should steer you in the right direction, I would add (since enzymatic action was stressed in the question) that enzymes are proteins that catalyze, or accelerate, chemical reactions.

What ended up happening with the "global topic" project?