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Definition of Enzymes, yellow

Medically reviewed by Min Clinic Staff | Updated: January 2026

Enzymes, yellow: A group of respiratory enzymes that catalyze reactions in the body permitting cells to respire or breathe, in other words, use oxygen. These biochemical reactions are termed oxidation-reduction reactions.

The first yellow enzyme was discovered by the German biochemist Otto Heinrich Warburg (1883-1970), a pioneer in research on the respiration of cells, who won the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in 1931 " for his discovery of the nature and mode of action of the respiratory enzyme."

All yellow enzymes are flavoproteins (from the Latin flavus, yellow).