Many enzymes have several alternative names and the same name has sometimes been used for different enzymes. This necessitates the use of an unambiguous naming system.
Enzymes are classified in the IUBMB Enzyme List according to the reactions they catalyse.
The EC number is a unique identifier for each enzyme classified according to this system.
Each enzyme has a short entry in the Enzyme List describing what it catalyses and some other key details.
Commonly used enzyme names may contain ambiguities and an Accepted name is provided to avoid this.
A Glossary is provided to relate compound names used by biochemists to those used by chemists.
Systematic names describe the catalysed reaction in more detail but can be cumbersome.
There are now over 5500 classified enzymes and the list is being continuously expanded and updated.
The official list is available at http://www.enzyme‐database.org/ – where searches by old names, or EC number are possible.