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Studies in the 'Lioxidase' in the flesh of British Columbia herring Khan, Muhammed Mujibur Rahman

Abstract

From the dark muscle of British Columbia herring a highly active enzyme capable of peroxidising unconjugated unsaturated fatty acids was isolated. This ‘lipoxidase’, which was shown to be a nitrogenous complex possessing no heavy metals or sulphydryl group as the active centre, is heat-labile and can act only in presence of activators such as certain iron-containing organic nitrogenous compounds. Two such compounds, namely haemoglobin and cytochrome ‘C’ were isolated. The enzyme exhibits optimum activity at 15°C. and pH 6.9. There is also an optimum concentration of enzyme, substrate, and of the activators for maximum enzyme activity. The presence of the activators appears to change the kinetics of the reactions. The inhibition of the enzymic reaction brought about by cyanide and azide is possibly due to the inactivation of the iron-containing activators rather than of the enzyme itself.

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