[Antioxidant activity of hydroxy derivatives of coumarin].

The inhibition efficiency (antioxidant activity) of hydroxy derivatives of coumarin, such as esculetin, dicumarol, and fraxetin, was studied in the methemalbumin-H2O2-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) pseudoperoxidase system at 20 degrees C in a buffered physiological solution (pH 7.4) containing 6% DMF and 0.25% DMSO. The inhibitor's efficiency was quantitatively characterized by the inhibition constants (K(i), microM) and the inhibition degree (%). The K(i) values for esculetin, dicumarol, and fraxetin were 9.5, 15, and 26 microM, respectively. Esculetin and fraxetin inhibited pseudoperoxidase oxidation of TMB in a noncompetitive manner; dicumarol, in a mixed manner. The inhibiting activity ofesculetin in peroxidase-catalyzed TMB oxidation at pH 6.4 is characterized by a K(i) value equal to 1.15 microM, and the inhibition process is competitive. Esculetin was found to be the most effective antioxidant of plant origin among all derivatives previously studied in model biochemical systems.

[Antioxidant activity of oxygen-containing aromatic compounds].

Inhibition efficiency (antioxidant activity) of 26 oxygen-containing aromatic compounds was studied in methemalbumin-H202-o-phenylenediamine (PDA) or tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) pseudoperoxidase system at 20 degrees C in buffered physiological solution (pH 7.4) containing 6% DM F and 0.25% DMSO. The inhibitor's efficiency was quantitatively characterized by the inhibition constants (Ki, microM) or the inhibition degree (%). Ki values varied in the range of4 to 500 microM and were influenced by a substrate, the structure of an inhibitor, hydroxyl groups, electron-donating substituents in aromatic ring, and steric hindrances. The type of inhibition at cooxidation of eight pairs was noncompetitive, and that of five pairs was mixed and determined by the substrate nature and the inhibitor structure. Lignin phenolic compounds ofguaiacyl and syringal series exhibited high antioxidant activity (Ki in the range of 10-300 microM), and their efficiency decreased in the following order: caffeic acid > synapaldehyde > syringic acid > coniferyl aldehyde > para-hydroxycou maric acid.

[Effect of herbicide tralkoxydim and 2-acylcyclohexane-1,3-diones on peroxidase activity].

Effect of 2-acylcyclohexane-1,3-dione derivatives (tralkoxydim and its diketone precursors) on peroxidase-catalyzed oxidation of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB), o-phenylenediamine (PDA), and the phenol-4-aminoantipyrine (4-AAP) couple has been studied. This effect varies from horseradish peroxidase (HRP) inactivation to activation in the reactions of peroxidation ofTMB, PDA, and, to a lesser extent, the phenol-4-AAP couple. The diketone-mediated HRP activation depends strongly on pH, presence of dimethylformamide, the structures of tralkoxydim and other diketones, and the substrate nature. The type of activation in the course of peroxidation with the presence of tralkoxydim can be noncompetitive (PDA and TMB) or mixed (TMB) depending on conditions. The maximal level of the HRP activation mediated by diketones depends on their structure. It can reach 4000% of the initial HRP-catalyzed peroxidation rate for TMB and ca. 1000% for PDA. A test system is proposed for quantitative tralkoxydim assay at millimolar concentration. It includes HRP and TMB as the substrate with spectrometrical monitoring of the TMB peroxidation product at 655 nm.

[Ultrasonic and thermal inactivation of catalases from the bovine liver, the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris, and the fungus Penicillium piceum].

The kinetics of inactivation of catalases from bovine liver (CAT), the fungus Penicillium piceum (CAT1), and the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris (CAT2) was studied in phosphate buffer (pH 5.5 or 7.4) at 45 and 50 degrees C or under the conditions of exposure to low-frequency ultrasound (LFUS; 27 kHz, 60 W/cm2). The processes were characterized by effective first-order rate constants (s(-1)): kin (total inactivation), k*in in (thermal inactivation), and k*in (us) (ultrasonic inactivation). The values of kin and k*in increased in the following order: CAT1 < CAT < CAT2. CD spectra of the enzyme solutions were recorded in the course of inactivation by high temperatures (45 and 50 degrees C) and LFUS, and the ratios of secondary structures were calculated. Processes of thermal and ultrasonic inactivation of catalases were associated with a decrease in the content of alpha helices and an increase in that of antiparallel beta structures and irregular regions (CAT1 < CAT < CAT2). We conclude that the enzymes exhibit the following rank order of resistance: CAT1 > CAT >CAT2. Judging from the characteristics of CAT1, it appears to be an optimum component for antioxidant enzyme complexes.

[Kinetics of catalase inactivation induced by ultrasonic cavitation]. / Kinetika inaktivatsii katalazy ul'trazvukovoi kavitatsiei.

Kinetic patterns of sonication-induced inactivation of bovine liver catalase (CAT) were studied in buffer solutions (pH 4-11) within the temperature range from 36 to 55 degrees C. Solutions of CAT were exposed to low-frequency (20.8 kHz) ultrasound (specific power, 48-62 W/cm2). The kinetics of CAT inactivation was characterized by effective first-order rate constants (s-1) of total inactivation (kin), thermal inactivation (*kin), and ultrasonic inactivation (kin(us)). In all cases, the following inequality was valid: kin > *kin. The value of kin(us) increased with the ultrasound power (range, 48-62 W/cm2) and exhibited a strong dependence on pH of the medium. On increasing the initial concentration of CAT (0.4-4.0 nM), kin(us) decreased. The three rate constants were minimum within the range of pH 6.5-8; their values increased considerably at pH < 6 and pH > 9. At 36-55 degrees C, temperature dependence of kin(us) was characterized by an activation energy (Eact) of 19.7 kcal/mol, whereas the value of Eact for CAT thermoinactivation was equal to 44.2 kcal/mol. Bovine serum and human serum albumins (BSA and HSA, respectively) inhibited sonication-induced CAT inactivation; complete prevention was observed at concentrations above 2.5 micrograms/ml. Dimethyl formamide (DMFA), a scavenger of hydroxyl radicals (HO.), prevented sonication-induced CAT inactivation at 10% (kin and *kin increased with the content of DMFA at concentrations in excess of 3%). The results obtained indicate that free radicals generated in the field of ultrasonic cavitation play a decisive role in the inactivation of CAT, which takes place when its solutions are exposed to low-frequency ultrasound. However, the efficiency of CAT inactivation by the radicals is determined by (1) the degree of association between the enzyme molecules in the reaction medium and (2) the composition thereof.

Isolation, purification, and characterization of catalase from the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris.

Catalase (CATpp) with molecular weight 223 kD was isolated from the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris and purified 90-fold by ion-exchange chromatography and gel filtration. Quantitative parameters of absorption and CD spectra of CATpp solutions and of its membrane-concentrated form (CATpp-conc) were studied. Rates of H2O2 decomposition and kinetic characteristics Km and kcat of CATpp and CATpp-conc were determined in 10 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) at 30 degrees C, as well as the effective constant kin of the enzyme inactivation rate during the catalysis and the constant k2 of the interaction rate of the Complex I catalases with H2O2. Thermal inactivation of CATpp in solutions at 45 degrees C was characterized by the effective rate constant kin*, and the low-frequency (27 kHz) ultrasonic inactivation of CATpp at 20 degrees C was characterized by the first-order rate constant kin(US). All spectral and kinetic characteristics of CATpp and CATpp-conc were compared with the corresponding values for catalase from bovine liver (CAT) and for catalase from the methylotrophic yeast Candida boidinii (CATcb). All three catalases were rather similar in their spectral properties but strongly varied in their kinetic parameters, and their comparison suggests that CATpp should be the best enzyme in its overall properties as it displayed the maximal efficiency in terms of kcat/Km, thermal stability comparable with the thermal stability of CAT in terms of kin*, the minimal kin, and high stability in the ultrasonic cavitation field at the US power of 60 W/cm2.