Question

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what are co-factors?name 2types of co-factor​

Answer 1

A cofactor is a non-protein chemical compound or metallic ion that is required for an enzyme's activity. Cofactors can be considered "helper molecules" that assist in biochemical transformations. The rates at which these happen are characterized by enzyme kinetics.

A cofactor is a non-protein chemical compound or metallic ion that is required for an enzyme's activity. Cofactors can be considered "helper molecules" that assist in biochemical transformations.

Answer 2

Cofactor Definition

A cofactor is a non-protein chemical that assists with a biological chemical reaction. Co-factors may be metal ions, organic compounds, or other chemicals that have helpful properties not usually found in amino acids. Some cofactors can be made inside the body, such as ATP, while others must be consumed in food.



Types of Cofactor

Vitamins

Vitamins are organic compounds that are co-factors for necessary biochemical reactions. Vitamins typically need to be consumed in the diet, because they cannot be made inside the body.

Many vitamins are cofactors which help enzymes to catalyze reactions, such as the production of important proteins. Vitamin C, for example, is a cofactor for the production of the connective tissue collagen.

This is why people who get scurvy – a severe form of vitamin C deficiency – may experience connective tissue problems, including muscle weakness, muscle soreness, and even unexplained bleeding as the connective tissues of blood vessels cannot be replaced.

Vitamin deficiencies are a good illustration of the effects of co-factor deficiency. Just as there are many possible vitamin deficiencies with many different symptoms, there are many different co-factors that our body needs to carry out its diverse necessary biochemical reactions.

The body’s requirement for diverse vitamin cofactors is also the reason why nutritionists counsel people to “eat the rainbow” – many plants’ colors are produced by cofactors, so by eating fruits and vegetables in a wide variety of colors helps to ensure that we consume a healthy variety of cofactors.


Minerals

Like vitamins, minerals are chemicals from outside of the body that must be ingested to allow our cells to function properly. The difference is that while vitamins are organic molecules – molecules containing carbon, which are often made by other living things – minerals are inorganic substances that occur naturally, and are often found in rocks and soil.

Minerals often enter our diets from plants, which draw them up out of the ground through their roots along with water. In some rare cases, people with vitamin deficiencies may feel the urge to eat certain types of soil to obtain the minerals from the soil directly.

Minerals that are important for human health include copper, which is necessary for the function of some important liver enzymes that break down toxins; iron, which is necessary for the function of some important metabolic enzymes; magnesium, which is necessary for the function of DNA polymerase and other enzymes; and zinc, which is also necessary for DNA polymerase as well as some liver enzymes