Anselme Payen discovers diastase, the first enzyme

Background. Anselme Payen was born in Paris, the son of Jean-Baptiste Pierre Payen and Marie-Francoise Jeanson de Courtenay. He began studying science with his father as a 13-year-old and later studied chemistry at the École Polytechnique under Louis Nicolas Vauquelin and Michel Eugène Chevreul. In 1833, while working at a French sugar factory, Payen and Jean-François Persoz extracted diastase from malt solution. This substance catalyzes the breakdown of starch into maltose, marking a significant milestone in the history of biochemistry.

Discovery of Diastase. Payen and Persoz published a memoir in 1833 detailing diastase, its reaction products, and industrial applications. Diastase, derived from the Greek for 'separation', degrades starch into maltose, maltotriose, and dextrins. This isolation is frequently argued as the start of biochemistry, although some historians prioritize Eduard Buchner's later work on cell-free fermentation.

Historical Significance. The term 'enzyme' was not used until 1878, when Wilhelm Kühne coined it from the Greek word for 'in leaven'. Despite this, Payen's 1833 isolation of diastase is widely recognized as the discovery of the first enzyme. Payen later became a professor at École Centrale Paris in 1835, and a street in Paris is named in his honor.