Substitution reactions of linoleic acid hydroperoxide isomerase

Linoleic acid hydroperoxide isomerase was extracted from corn germ and partially purified by differential centrifugation. This enzyme catalyzed the isomerization of linoleic acid hydroperoxide to the expected α‐ketol and γ‐ketol . Isomerase also catalyzed the substitution of various reagents at the carbon bearing the hydroperoxide group. These fatty acid products had the following functional groupings: where X is either oleoyloxy, ethylthio, or methoxy resulting from the presence of oleic acid, ethanethiol, or methanol, respectively. A crude wheat germ extract containing both lipoxygenase and isomerase enzymes reacted with linoleic acid to yield α‐ketols, γ‐ketols, and a substitution product, the linoleoyloxy ester of α‐ketol. Characterization of these products from wheat germ enzymes showed that the substitution reaction was not unique to corn germ. Because anions of the reagents tested are typical nucleophiles, the substitution reactions may proceed by a nucleophilic mechanism as mediated by the isomerase enzyme.