Studies on lipase [EC 3.1.1.3] from germinating Hura crepitans seeds

Lipase activity was monitored on germinating Hura crepitans seeds for 16 days in the dark with olive oil as substrate. The enzyme actvity increases from 45 units on day zero to 120 units on the12th day and later fell to 105 units on the 16th day of germination. The efect of pH on lipase activity was determined with two diferent peaks at 6.0 and 8.0 respectvely. This suggests that there are both acidic and alkaline lipases in the seeds of Hura crepitans. Inhibition showed that EDTA is an activator at concentration below 0.18M. It is also an activator at concentration above 0.5M. The enzyme has a Km of 0.18M with a Vmax of 0.69. Keywords: Hura crepians, Lipase, Inhibition, Activation, Km and Vmax