Activity of mushroom polyphenol oxidase in organic medium

A kinetic study of the activity of mushroom polyphenol oxidase in an organic system was carried out to obtain detailed enzyme kinetic data in relation to optimization of reaction conditions and substrate specificity. A simple method for consistent measurement of reaction rates in the heterogeneous enzyme/organic solvent system (consisting of immobilized polyphenol oxidase and a hydrated solution of the substrate in chloroform) was designed. The aqueous content of the system was optimized using p‐cresol as the substrate. With this system, a crude extract of Agaricus bisporus was used to hydroxylate and oxidize a range of selected p‐substituted phenolic substrates, yielding o‐quinone products. Michaelis–Menten kinetics were used to obtain apparent KM and Vmax values with respect to each of these substrates. Results from this analysis indicated a correlation between the enzymic kinetic parameters obtained and the steric requirements of the substrates, which could be rationalized in terms of the restricted flexibility of the enzyme when it is in chloroform and also in terms of substrate and solvent hydrophobicity. In the course of the investigation UV molar absorption coefficients of several o‐quinones were measured by a novel method: 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was employed to determine component concentrations in reaction mixtures resulting from the transformation of phenols by polyphenol oxidase in chloroform. Thus the UV molar absorption coefficients could be obtained directly, avoiding the necessity to isolate the water‐sensitive, unstable o‐quinones. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.