The enzyme phenylpyruvate decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.43) catalyzes the chemical reaction This enzyme belongs to the family of lyases, specifically the carboxy-lyases, which cleave carbon-carbon bonds.
The systematic name of this enzyme class is phenylpyruvate carboxy-lyase (phenylacetaldehyde-forming).
This enzyme is also called phenylpyruvate carboxy-lyase.
[citation needed] This enzyme participates in phenylalanine and tryptophan metabolism.
As of late 2007, only one structure has been solved for this class of enzymes, with the PDB accession code 2NXW.