Metabolism is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms that maintain cell homeostasis. Metabolic pathways are enzyme-mediated biochemical reactions that lead to biosynthesis (anabolism) or breakdown (catabolism) of molecules including glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism and amino acid or protein metabolism within a cell or tissue. As catalysts, enzymes are crucial to metabolism as they allow a reaction to proceed more rapidly and tregulate the rate of a metabolic reaction. Due to the importance of metabolic balance in the organism, the abnormal function of metabolic enzymes often leads to the occurrence of a variety of metabolic diseases, such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, etc.

MCE designs a unique collection of 2,861 metabolic enzymes related small molecules, which is an important tool for studying the metabolic activities of organisms and developing drugs for metabolic diseases.