Lipase Lab Report

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Lipid metabolism is one source of energy for the human body. We eat food containing one form of lipids, triacylglycerols. Before starting lipid metyabolism, these fats get broken down into droplets by bile salts.Triacylglycerols can be broken into fatty acids plus glycerol via hydrolysis with the help of the pancreatic lipase enzymen and then get used by cells for energy by breaking down even further. Once the pancreas and cells have enough energy and don’t need to absorb anymore, fatty acids get synthesized back into triacylgleryols. The excess triacylglycerols get stored in adipose tissue. Excess storage leads to weight gain and obesity.
The enzyme being tested in this lab is the pancreatic lipase enzyme. It is secreted by the pancreas. In the intestinal tract, it is found breaking down lipids, or dietary …show more content…

The R group is a long carbon chain which is open. The two inhibiting drugs that are of interest are caffeine and alli, also known as orlistat. Caffeine has amine and amide functional groups. They are in two closed cyclic rings connecting each other. This drug may act as an uncompetitive inhibitor; it is not a competitive inhibitor because it does not look siilar to the substrate coconut oil and does not have any same functional groups. The cons of using caffeine is vomiting, digestive distubances, constipation and stomach cramps. The pros of this drug is that is prevents type 2 diabates, decreases fatigue and drowsiness. The other drug, alli, has an ester group. Ester groups and carboxyclic acids are derivatives of each other. Alli also has a long carbon chain attached to it similar to that of coconut oil. The similarities make Alli a competitive inhibitor. The pros of Alli are it helps with weight loss, it prevents type 2 diabeters and it it not addictive. The cons of Alli is it will cause kidney stones and has unpleasant gastrointestinal effects.

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