What are metabolic processes ? State its importance.

Explanation

All living organisms, (Bacteria, protozoan plants, animals) contain thousands of organic compounds.
These compounds or biomolecules are present in certain concentrations (mols/cell or mols/litre etc.).
These biomolecules have a turn over. They are constantly being changed into some other biomolecules and also made from some other biomolecules. In living organisms, breaking and making through chemical reactions constantly occurring. Together all these chemical reactions are called metabolism.
(i) Examples of such metabolic transformations axe removal of `CO_2` from amino acids making its transformation into an amines.
(ii) Removal of amino group in a nucleotide base, hydrolysis of a glycosidic bond in a disaccharide, etc.
Majority of these metabolic reactions do not occur in isolation but are always linked to some other reactions.
Metabolites are converted into each other in a series of linked reactions called metabolic pathways.
These metabolic pathways are similar to the automobile traffic. They have definite rate and direction.
This metabolite flow is called the dynamic state of body constituents. It is necessary for healthy conditions.
Another feature of metabolic reactions is that every chemical reaction is a catalysed reaction. There is no metabolic conversion in living systems, which is uncatalysed. Even `CO_2` dissolving in water, a physical process, is a catalysed reaction in living systems.
The catalysts which speed up the rate of a given metabolic conversation are also proteins.
These proteins with catalytic power are named enzymes.