The Effect of Honey on Regulating Glycogen Phosphorylase b Activity

Voiceover

Presenter(s)

Amy Qiang

Abstract or Description

Glycogen phosphorylase is needed for the breakdown of glycogen to glucose-1-phosphate when energy levels are low, allowing for access of stored energy reserves in the body. The enzyme glycogen phosphorylase has two forms: glycogen phosphorylase a, which is the active form, and glycogen phosphorylase b (GPb), which is the inactive form. GPb was the enzyme tested to determine whether certain effectors would act as activators or inhibitors of the enzyme. The effectors used in this lab consisted of AMP, caffeine, and honey, all tested at different concentrations. Spectrophotometry was utilized to measure the impact of the effectors on enzyme kinetics as inorganic phosphate was released from glucose-1-phosphate. AMP was found to be an activator of GPb, while caffeine was found to be an allosteric inhibitor. Honey was also determined to be an inhibitor of GPb, as the enzyme had reduced rates of activity even when AMP was included in the reaction. These results describe different activity patterns of glycogen phosphorylase, contributing to the overall understanding of the enzyme and what conditions it functions under. 

Mentor

Roberto de Guzman