Did Buchner believe enzymes were living?
No, that is a misunderstanding. My work did not suggest that enzymes themselves were living entities. Instead, I demonstrated that they are specific chemical substances produced by living organisms. The zymase complex, for instance, is a collection of enzymes found within yeast cells. These enzymes are purely chemical agents that possess the ability to catalyze specific reactions, such as fermentation. One must not assume a vital force where a chemical explanation suffices. My focus was always on isolating and characterizing these chemical catalysts to understand the underlying biochemical mechanisms.
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