The tiny, granular, self-reproducing and enzyme-rich organelles surrounded by a membrane are called peroxisomes. They are also called microsomes. Its diameter is 0.2-17 millimicrons. It contains enzymes in crystal and granule form. At its center, fine-grained material accumulates to form an opaque core. It is called nucleoid. Its main enzymes are catalase, D-amino acid oxidase and uric acid oxidase. It breaks down fatty acids into acetyl Co by beta-oxidation process. Organelles that carry out beta-oxidation are called glyoxysomes. Belgian psychologist Christian de Duve discovered it in 1967.
Peroxisomes are abundant in photosynthetic cells of plants, such as those in the embryo membrane, liver and kidney cells. Peroxisomes arise from rough endoplasmic reticulum.