Coenzyme, cofactor and prosthetic group : ambiguous biochemical jargon

• Main Authors: Hashim, Onn Haji, Adnan, N.A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 1994
• Subjects: R Medicine
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/3450/1/Coenzyme%2C_cofactor_and_prosthetic_group%C3%A2%E2%82%AC%E2%80%9Dambiguous_biochemical_jargon.pdf; http://eprints.um.edu.my/3450/; http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1016/0307-4412%2894%2990088-4/pdf

For enzymes which require non-protein components to be functionally active, it is generally accepted that the term holoenzyme refers to the complete catalytic entity which consists of a protein part known as the apoenzyme and a non-protein constituent. The terms used for the functionally required non-protein constituents however, are ambiguous and differ from one commonly used biochemistry textbook to another. In certain textbooks, any associative non-protein factor required for the enzymatic function is termed coenzyme. The coenzyme may eitherbe a prosthetic group — the tightly bound coenzyme, or a cofactor — the loosely bound small organic or inorganic molecule.