Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
10236370 | Process Biochemistry | 2005 | 4 Pages |
Abstract
The quantitative cyanide liberation resulting from hydrolysis of the cyanogenic glycosides of some edible tropical cyanophoric plants by a β-glucosidase enzyme prepared from African giant snail (Achatina achatina) was studied spectrophotometrically. The results were compared with that obtained with cassava linamarase that has relatively the same unit of activity. The quantitative yield of HCN equivalent from fresh cassava root pulp following incubation with A. achatina β-glucosidase (4.7 units mlâ1) was 1.65-14.46 mg CNâ100 gâ1 fresh weight (for 10 different cassava cultivars) and 1.67-14.17 mg CNâ100 gâ1 fresh weight when incubated with cassava linamarase (5.0 units mlâ1) under the same assay conditions. There was no statistically significant differences (P > 0.01) between the hydrolytic activities of these two β-glucosidases towards the cyanogenic glycosides of cassava, lima beans, wheat and standard linamarin. These results strongly indicate that A. achatina is another good source of β-glycosidase with high hydrolytic activity towards cyanogenic glycosides of some plants including cassava.
Keywords
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Physical Sciences and Engineering
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Bioengineering
Authors
P.N. Okafor,