Studies on enzyme action. XVI.—The enzymes of emulsin. (I) Prunase, the correlate of prunasin

Abstract

The subject has been dealt with previously in Nos. X, XII and XIII of these studies, in all of which the view was advocated that the resolution of amygdalin into two molecules of glucose and one of the cyanhydrol (CN·CHPh·OH) by almond emulsin is effected through the agency of two distinct enzymes—amygdalase and a β-glucase ; the former being the enzyme by which the amygdalin is resolved into glucose and Fischer’s glucoside and the β-glucase that by which this glucoside is subsequently resolved into glucose and the cyanhydrol. “Emulsin” occurs in the almond fruit and in the fruits of a variety of allied species of plants together with amygdalin . In continuing our studies, we have directed our attention to plant materials containing the simpler cyanophoric glucoside derivable from amygdalin, the primary object we had in view being to institute a comparison between the “enzyme” associated with the simpler glucosides and almond-emulsin, not without an expectation that in such cases we should succeed in finding the β-glucase unaccompanied by amygdalase.