Mrs. Savita Chandrawanshi, Mr. Pankaj Kumar Bharati, Mr. Nageshwar Sahu
ISBN: 978-81-994642-3-0
Copyright: 2026
Binding Type: Perfect Binding
DOI: https://doi.org/10.63785/978-81-685195-6-5

Biochemistry is the branch of science that explores the chemical basis of life. It deals with the structure, composition, properties, and functions of biomolecules and the chemical reactions that sustain living organisms. By combining the principles of both biology and chemistry, biochemistry provides an understanding of how cellular and molecular processes govern growth, reproduction, heredity, and disease. It explains how carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids, vitamins, hormones, and other biomolecules interact to maintain the complexity of life. In this way, biochemistry serves as a bridge between the physical sciences and the life sciences, linking the molecular events of chemistry with the physiological phenomena of biology.
The history of biochemistry can be traced back to the nineteenth century, when chemists began to investigate biological processes in terms of chemical reactions. The synthesis of urea by Friedrich Wöhler in 1828 was a landmark discovery because it demonstrated that an organic compound could be created outside a living system, challenging the earlier belief in vitalism. Later, the discovery of enzymes as catalysts of biochemical reactions and Eduard Buchner’s demonstration of cell-free fermentation established that complex cellular processes could be studied independently of whole organisms. The twentieth century brought rapid progress in biochemistry with the elucidation of metabolic pathways, the discovery of vitamins and hormones, and the development of laboratory techniques such as chromatography, electrophoresis, and spectroscopy. The most revolutionary
advancement came in 1953 with the discovery of the double-helical structure of DNA by Watson and Crick, which opened the door to modern molecular biology, genetic engineering, and biotechnology. Today, biochemistry has expanded further into specialized fields such as genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and systems biology, providing a deeper and more integrated understanding of life at the molecular level.