Superoxide Dismutase

Superoxide dismutases are a class of enzymes that catalyze reactions similar to the one below:

O2^- + O2^- + 2H⁺ -> H2O2 + O2

The term dismutase describes an enzyme that acts on two identical substrate molecules in a way that results in two different products. The hydrogen peroxide formed in the reaction above can be broken down by the enzyme catalase or, to some extent, by peroxidases.