Enzymes are protein catalysts that speed up chemical reactions without being used up. They work best within certain temperature and pH ranges - human enzymes typically have an optimal temperature around 40 degrees Celsius while plant enzymes work best around 25 degrees. Both can become denatured and non-functional outside their optimal conditions. The "lock and key" and "induced fit" models describe how enzymes position their active sites to selectively bind with substrate molecules for catalysis.