The following animated sequence shows the breakdown of the polymer cellulose to its monomers of glucose catalysed by the enzyme Lysozyme, an example of Enzyme Action . Enzymes can be used to increase the rate of a specific reaction, and they do this by reducing the energy required for the reaction to take place.
All enzymes are specific to their individual substrate i.e. the molecule that fits the enzyme.
In the case of the enzyme Lysozyme, the substrate is cellulose. This is because the place where the substrate rests on the enzyme, known as the enzyme's active site , has a precise three-dimensional shape and only the substrate cellulose possesses a shape feasible to enter and react with it. The substrate fits onto the active site precisely, and after a short time the substrate is altered ain some way, depolymerised in this scenario. The product of the reaction, what the substrate has turned into, then leaves the enzyme. With economic factors in any type of production, it is important that the rate of production is as high as possible.