An enzyme found within cells that catalyzes biochemical reactions inside cells, particularly involving fermentation or decomposition.
From cyto- (Greek kytos, 'cell') + zymase (from Greek zymē, 'leaven, ferment' + -ase, enzyme suffix). Identified in the early 20th century when biochemists isolated enzymes specifically from cell cytoplasm.
Cytozymase was historically important because discovering it helped prove that fermentation happens through specific enzymes inside cells rather than requiring some mysterious 'vital force'—a huge conceptual shift showing that life itself runs on chemistry. This pulled biology into the modern scientific age.
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