Journal of Applied Biosciences (J. Appl. Biosci.) [ISSN 1997 - 5902]
Volume 29: 1793 - 1808. Published May 11, 2010.
Biotechnological potentialities of three enzymatic activities from seeds of the neglected crop Lagenaria siceraria
Djary M. KOFFI1, Jean T. GONNETY 2, Betty M. FAULET 2, Micaël E. BéDIKOU 1, Irié A. ZORO BI 3 and Sébastien L. NIAMKé 1*
1Laboratoire de Biotechnologies, Filière Biochimie-Microbiologie de l’Unité de Formation et de Recherche Biosciences de l’Université de Cocody, 22 BP 582 Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire ; 2Laboratoire de Biochimie et Technologie des Aliments de l’Unité de Formation et de Recherche des Sciences et Technologies des Aliments de l’Université d’Abobo-Adjamé, 02 BP 801 Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire ; 3Laboratoire de Génétique de l’Unité de Formation et de Recherche des Sciences de la Nature de l’Université d’Abobo-Adjamé, 02 BP 801 Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To analyze the enzymatic potential of the seeds of Lagenaria siceraria (round-fruited cultivar), an indigenous cucurbit that is an orphan crop, though widely cultivated and distributed in Côte d’Ivoire.
Methodology and results: The seeds extract of L. siceraria round-fruited cultivar was screened using a variety of synthetic and natural substrates for hydrolytic enzymes activities. The best enzymatic hydrolysis mainly consisted of phosphatase (0.71 ± 0.02 UI/mg), β-galactosidase (0.31 ± 0.03 UI/mg) and α-mannosidase (0.21 ± 0.02 UI/mg) activities. Physicochemical characterization showed that the three enzymatic activities were acidic (pH 4.6 – 5.6) and mesophilic (55°C). Also, they appeared to be stable in the presence of most cationic, non-ionic and anionic detergents as well as in the presence of cations (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Ba2+ and Mg2+) assayed. Substrate specificity showed that the seeds extract hydrolyzed a broad range of natural substrates such as adenosine-5’-triphosphate, pyrophosphate, phosphorylated sugars (glucose-1-phosphate, glucose-6-phosphate, fructose-1-phosphate and fructose-6-phosphate), lactose and the three differently linked (α-1,2; α-1,3; α-1,6) mannobioses.
Conclusions and potential application of findings: The properties of the three enzymatic activities make them attractive for potential biotechnological applications. More investigations are proposed to characterise them further.
Key words: orphan crop; Lagenaria siceraria; phosphatase; β-galactosidase; α-mannosidase
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