Biochemistry

• Refers to scientific study of the chemistry of the living organisms.
• Study of the ways in which such components are synthesized and utilized on the living body.

Scope of biochemistry

a. Basic sciences:

• On the basis of nutrient requirement, plant kingdom is autotropic and heterotrophic.
• Autotropic plants require inorganic nutrient to form complex organic compounds for their growth and development.
• Plant growth, development and production, all depends upon the complex chemical substitute supplied to them.
• So, to identify the proper plan, full knowledge of the relevant plant process is necessary.
• This has resulted in a great need for plant biochemical research.

b. Medical and veterinary sciences

• Medical and veterinary biochemistry deals with chemistry of metabolism of foods, digestion, absorption, tissues, respiration, blood, cell membrane, etc.

c. Agricultural sciences

• The plant biochemistry provides biochemical processes such as photosynthesis, starch biosynthesis, nitrate assimilation, nitrogen fixation, protein quality, etc.
• However, to exploit potential of DNA technology, it is important to have comprehensive knowledge of all these biochemical processes.

d. Molecular logic of life

• All the living process such as DNA, proteins, enzymes, their specific reactions, replication and repair, nutrient metabolism, etc, depends upon biochemistry process.