On the enzymatic activity of albumin

Albumin molecules, unlike molecules of many other plasma proteins, are not covered with a carbohydrate shell. Albumin plays a crucial role in maintaining colloid osmotic blood pressure and can bind and transport various endogenous and exogenous molecules. The enzymatic activity of albumin, the existence and the role of which most researchers are still skeptical to accept, is our main interest. In this review, a history of the issue is traced, with particular attention paid to the esterase activity of albumin. The kinetic and thermodynamic characteristics of the interaction of albumin with some substrates are adduced, and the possibility of attributing albumin to certain groups of Enzyme Nomenclature is considered.