a heme biosynthesis video series by the esteemed Dr. Andrew Sayer. This channel shows you how to make the most of life’s little pleasures by making heme from the amino acid cysteine.
A while back, the first episode in this series showed how we can make heme from the simplest things, like a drop of blood. The second episode showed how we can make hisme from the most complex things, like a piece of plant fiber. Here in this video, we will show you how to make heme from the simplest things, like a drop of blood, but we will also show you how to make it from the most complex things, like a piece of plant fiber.
If you don’t know yet, heme is a nonrenewable resource that is synthesized inside the body from a molecule called cysteine. This is the first step in the biosynthesis of heme. A cysteine molecule begins as a simple amino acid, and it is then modified through the action of enzymes to produce a number of different amino acids. The most common amino acid in the blood is glutamate.
The most important enzyme in heme biosynthesis is methionine synthase. This enzyme converts methionine into methionine sulfoxide, a compound that is then converted into cysteine. Cysteine is then used to make cysteine, and the final step in heme biosynthesis is deacetylation.
Our goal is to find the source of the heme that we’ve just ingested. With the help of a mysterious person, we’re going to find out who that person is and what the hell he’s up to.
The first step, which happens a few seconds after the enzyme converts methionine into cysteine, is to produce the free radical, superoxide. This free radical can then be converted into hydrogen peroxide, which can then be converted into water. This process is called the heme-catalyzed oxidation reaction. From there it goes to glutathione, which is used to detoxify the body of heavy metals such as lead that are found in the blood.
In addition to the blood, the liver is also the largest organ in the body and one of the main ways the body detoxifies heavy metals is to break them down into nonoxidative forms. These forms are called “reductants” for good reason because they can reduce heavy metals. In the liver, the main reductant for lead is glutathione.
The liver is also the largest organ of the body. It’s where the body first makes heme, the body’s primary antioxidant, from which the body’s immune response and many other functions arise. Heme is necessary to produce red blood cells, the blood’s “reserve” in the absence of oxygen. Heme also plays a role in the formation of red blood cells and in the regulation of both blood cell production and blood cell life.
I have been talking to Dr. Mark Baker (from the Center for Science in the Public Interest) about heme biosynthesis and how that might be useful in detoxing lead from the body. I believe that heme biosynthesis has the potential to be a detoxifying defense against lead, and can potentially be used alongside other detoxifying therapies.
That’s right. Heme is one of the most important parts of our bodies. To be healthy, we need oxygen, and oxygen is the only thing that our bodies know how to produce. But when we’re drinking alcohol, we also get a bunch of toxins that we don’t need in the first place. In fact, you can drink wine without drinking any alcohol at all. You’ll get the same amount of alcohol, but now you’re inhaling all the toxic chemicals from the wine.