Effect of alteration of aeration and temperature on production of α-amylase by Bacillus subtilis

α-Amylase production by Bacillus subtilis in fermentation was markedly increased by reduction of aeration at the end of the exponential growth phase. The resultant decrease in pH seems to be a limiting factor and without pH control the aeration rate could be reduced from 1 litre/litre/min to 0.2 litre/litre/min for optimum α-amylase production. Alteration of temperature at the same stage did not result in improved yields.     

Wheat Responses in Semiarid Northern Ethiopia to N2 Fixation by Pisum Sativum Treated with Phosphorous Fertilizers and Inoculant

Nitrogen fixation (N₂) by leguminous crops is a relatively low-cost alternative to N fertilizers for smallholder farmers in Africa. Nitrogen fixation in pea (Pisum sativum L. cv. Markos) as affected by phosphorus (P) fertilization (0, 30 kg P ha⁻¹) and inoculation (uninoculated and inoculated) in the semiarid conditions of Northern Ethiopia was studied using the ¹⁵N isotope dilution method and locally adapted barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Bureguda) as reference crop. The effect of pea fixed nitrogen (N₂) on yield of the subsequent wheat crop (Triticum aestivum L.) was also assessed. Phosphorus and inoculation significantly influenced nodulation at the late flowering stage and also significantly increased P and N concentrations in shoots, and P concentration in roots, while P and N concentrations in nodules were not affected. Biomass, pods m⁻² and grain yield responded positively to P and inoculation, while seeds pod⁻¹ and seed weights were not significantly affected by these treatments. Phosphorus and inoculation enhanced the percentage of N derived from the atmosphere in the whole plant ranging from 53 to 70%, corresponding to the total amount of N₂ fixed varying from 55 to 141 kg N ha⁻¹. Soil N balance after pea ranged from − 9.2 to 19.3 kg N ha⁻¹ relative to following barley, where barley extracted N on the average of 6.9 and 62.0 kg N ha⁻¹ derived from fertilizer and soil, respectively. Beneficial effects of pea fixed N₂ on yield of the following cereal crop were obtained, increasing the average grain and N yields of this crop by 1.06 Mg ha⁻¹ and 33 kg ha⁻¹, respectively, relative to the barley–wheat monocrop rotation. It can be concluded that pea can be grown as an alternative crop to fallow, benefiting farmers economically and increasing the soil fertility.     

Solubility Differences of Major Storage Proteins of Brassicaceae Oilseeds

Seeds of six commercially produced Brassica juncea, Brassica napus and Sinapis alba varieties representing high-glucosinolate condiment-type and low-glucosinolate canola-type were studied for solubility characteristics of the predominant seed storage proteins (SSPs). The non-protein nitrogen components such as glucosinolates, nucleic acids, betaine, choline and sinapine contributed 3.1–5.2% and 7.9–10.8% for the total N content of low- and high-glucosinolate meals, respectively. The cruciferin and napin which are the predominant SSPs of crucifers were purified from these seeds and used to confirm soluble protein types under the conditions provided. The napins were soluble between pH 2 and 4 but not the cruciferins. Strong alkaline pH brought both cruciferin and napin into solution. In general, the SSP solubility was increased due to the presence of NaCl or CaCl₂ salts in the medium. The effect of CaCl₂ on solubility was more positive than NaCl for all the seed types except S. alba at neutral and alkaline pH. Presence of salts indeed reduced solubility of S. alba SSPs at alkaline pH. The medium pH and salt ions and their ionic strength can be manipulated to achieve selective solubility of napin and cruciferin of Brassicaceae seed meals.     

Influence of nitrogen nutrition and metabolism on ammonia volatilization in plants

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Golf) was grown in solution culture with controlled nitrogen availability in order to study the influence of nitrogen nutrition on ammonia emission from the leaves. Ammonia emission measured in cuvettes connected to an automatic NH₃ monitor was close to zero for nitrate grown plants but increased to 0.9–1.3 nmol NH₃ m^-2 leaf area s^-1 after 3–5 days of ammonium nutrition. Increasing concentrations from 0.5 to 10 mM NH₄ ⁺ in the root medium increased NH₃ emission from the shoots, root glutamine synthetase activity and NH₄ ⁺ concentrations in apoplast, xylem sap and bulk tissue, while apoplastic pH values decreased.Inhibition of glutamine synthetase in nitrate grown barley plants by addition of 1 mM methionine sulfoximine (MSO) to the root medium caused ammonia emission to increase 5 to 10-fold after 2–3 hours. At the same time shoot tissue ammonium concentrations started to increase. Addition of an inhibitor of photorespiration, 1 mM pyrid-2-yl hydroxymethane sulfonate (HPMS) reduced this increase in ammonia emission showing a relation between NH₃ emission and photorespiration.Oil seed rape (Brassica napus L. cv. Global) plants grown at 3 different nitogen levels (2N, 4N and 7N) in a sand/soil mixture showed increasing NH₃ compensation points with increasing N level. This increase was highly correlated with increasing NH₄ ⁺ concentrations in the leaf apoplast and total leaf tissue. The NH₃ compensation points could be succesfully predicted on basis of the pH and NH₄ ⁺ concentration in the leaf apoplast.     

The comparison of nitrogen use and leaching in sole cropped versus intercropped pea and barley

The effect of sole and intercropping of field pea (Pisumsativum L.) and spring barley (Hordeum vulgareL.) and of crop residue management on crop yield,NO₃ ^– leaching and N balance in the cropping systemwas tested in a 2-year lysimeter experiment on a temperate sandy loam soil. Thecrop rotation was pea and barley sole and intercrops followed by winter-rye anda fallow period. The Land Equivalent Ratio (LER), which is defined as therelative land area under sole crops that is required to produce the yieldsachieved in intercropping, was used to compare intercropping performancerelative to sole cropping. Crops received no fertilizer in the experimentalperiod. Natural ¹⁵N abundance techniques were used to determine peaN₂ fixation. The pea–barley intercrop yielded 4.0 Mg grainha^–1, which was about 0.5 Mg lowerthan theyields of sole cropped pea but about 1.5 Mg greater than harvestedin sole cropped barley. Calculation of the LER showed thatplant growth resources were used from 17 to 31% more efficiently by theintercrop than by the sole crops. Pea increased the N derived fromN₂fixation from 70% when sole cropped to 99% of the total aboveground Naccumulation when intercropped. However, based upon aboveground N accumulationthe pea–barley intercrop yielded about 85 kg Nha^–1, which was about 65 kg lower thansolecropped pea but about three times greater than harvested in sole croppedbarley.Despite different preceding crops and removal or incorporation of straw, therewas no significant difference between the subsequent non-fertilized winter-ryegrain yields averaging 2.8 Mg ha^–1, indicating anequalization of the quality of incorporated residue by theNO₃ ^– leaching pattern.NO₃ ^– leaching throughout the experimental periodwas61 to 76 kg N ha^–1. Leaching dynamics indicateddifferences in the temporal N mineralization comparing lysimeters previouslycropped with pea or with barley. The major part of this N was leached duringautumn and winter. Leaching tended to be smaller in the lysimeters originallycropped with the pea–barley intercrops, although not significantly differentfromthe sole cropped pea and barley lysimeters. Soil N balances indicated depletionof N in the soil–plant system during the experimental period, independent ofcropping system and residue management. N complementarity in the croppingsystemand the synchrony between residual N availability and crop N uptake isdiscussed.     

Effect of canola meal fermentation and protein extraction method on the functional properties of resulting protein products

The present study investigated the effect of solid-state fermentation (SSF) of cold-pressed (CP) and hexane-extracted (HE) canola meals with Aspergillus niger NRRL 334 and Aspergillus oryzae NRRL 5590 on the functionalities of protein products extracted from them. After SSF, proteins were recovered using alkaline extraction-isoelectric precipitation (AE-IP) or salt extraction-dialysis (SE). SSF of the two meal types reduced the protein content of the extracts produced by AE-IP. There were varied effects to solubility, foaming, and emulsifying properties as a result of SSF under the combined influence of functionality pH, strain, meal type, and protein extraction method. The protein isolate produced from CP meal using SE had increased solubility at pH 7 (from 51.8% to 90.7%) when the meal was fermented with A. oryzae. Both strains resulted in an over twofold increase in the emulsifying activity index (at pH 7) of AE-IP products from CP meal. For both protein extraction methods, the protein products from A. niger fermented HE meal had better foaming capacity (FC) at pH 7 than the controls (non-fermented), but reduced FC at pH 3. Overall, regardless of meal fermentation, the SE products were richer in protein and had higher oil holding capacity (OHC), whereas the water holding capacity (WHC) was higher for AE-IP isolates. SSF of the meals generally improved the O/WHC of the extracted proteins. The findings suggest that canola protein functionality could be effectively modulated by SSF with different microbial strains under various processing conditions to enhance their applicability in the food industry.     

Production and characterization of laccase and manganese peroxidase from the ligninolytic fungus Fomes sclerodermeus

Fomes sclerodermeus was grown on semi‐defined media based on yeast extract, peptone and glucose (YPG). The fungus produced a minimum basal level of laccase activity irrespective of culture medium. The highest laccase production (20 U cm^?3) was obtained in cultures supplemented with CuSO₄. Manganese peroxidase (MnP) could only be detected when MnSO₄ was added to the medium. None of the aromatic compounds tested stimulated further laccase or MnP production. Laccase and MnP stimulated by Cu²⁺ or Mn²⁺ respectively were purified. Two different laccase isoenzymes with the same molecular mass (67 kDa) and N‐linked carbohydrate content (3%) and a slight difference in their pI values (3.41 and 3.48) were characterized. In addition, two different MnP isoenzymes with the same molecular mass (47 kDa) and N‐linked carbohydrate content (4%) and different pI values (3.35 and 3.45) were characterized. Both enzymes showed good stability at 25 °C and over a wide range of pH. Both laccases oxidize ABTS (2,2′‐azino‐bis(3‐ethylbenzthiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid) more efficiently than 2,6‐dimethoxyphenol (DMP) with similar efficiency values (K_cat/K_m) while the MnP I, the major peroxidase isoenzyme in the studied conditions, oxidizes the Mn²⁺ and Mn‐mediated activity on DMP more efficiently than MnP II. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

Barley Protein Isolate: Thermal, Functional, Rheological, and Surface Properties

Barley protein isolate (BPI) was extracted in 0.015 N NaOH in a 10:1 ratio solvent:flour and was precipitated by adjusting the pH to 4.5 and freeze-dried. The thermal properties of BPI were determined using modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC). BPI with 4% moisture content exhibited a glass transition (T _g) with 140 °C onset, 153 °C middle, and 165 °C end temperatures and a ΔC _p of 0.454 J/g per °C. The high moisture content sample (50%) showed a T _g at 89, 91, or 94 °C and 0.067 ΔC _p. Acetylation had no apparent effect on the foaming and emulsifying properties of protein from barley flour but exhibited the least-stable foam among BPI samples. Foaming capacities of both barley protein isolates were ∼12% less than that of acid-precipitated soy protein isolate reported in the literature. Acetylated BPI showed the highest surface hydrophobicity compared to the other samples. The surface-tension test confirmed that unmodified and modified BPI possessed surface activity. BPI phosphorous oxycloride-crosslinked was the most effective in lowering the surface tension of aqueous NaCl, while the crosslinked BPI was the least effective. The G′ value of BPI suspension was greater than G″ at all frequencies from 0.1 to 100 rad/s. The strain value at which linear behavior ceased and nonlinear behavior began ranged from 3 to 10%. Names are necessary to report factually on available data; however, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) neither guarantees nor warrants the standard of the product, and the use of the name by the USDA implies no approval of the product to the exclusion of others that may also be suitable.     

Lipolytic Enzyme Production by Immobilized Rhizopus oryzae

In this paper, a suitable technique as well as an adequate material for the immobilization of the fungus Rhizopus oryzae were investigated. This organism has been shown to have potential in the field of food aroma due to the production of extracellular lipolytic enzymes. However, an efficient production system at bioreactor scale for its application to the flavor compounds production is still needed. Among the supports studied, alginate beads were the best carrier materials, leading to the highest lipolytic activities of up to 400 U/L after 3 days of cultivation. Repeated batch cultures were carried out to improve cell concentration and lipolytic activity. The gel beads produced lipolytic enzyme under optimized conditions for consecutive batch fermentations without marked activity loss and deformation attained a maximum level of 715 U/L after three batches. The production of lipolytic enzyme by immobilized Rhizopus oryzae in a 2‐litre airlift bioreactor with the optimized conditions was evaluated. Lipolytic activities of 487 U/L were attained, operating in successive batches without operational problems and the bioparticles (the fungus grows in alginate beads) maintained their shape throughout fermentation.     

Agronomical evaluation of phosphate fertilizer as a nutrient source of phosphorus for crops: Isotopic procedure

The agronomic effectiveness of P fertilizers, as sources of phosphorus for crops, was evaluated using the quantities, P_f, of phosphorus taken up byLolium perenne grown on 14 soils during greenhouse experiments in pot cultures. The P_f quantities were determined using³²P-labelled fertilizers. Data were analysed using a new concept: the Isotopic Relative Agronomic Effectiveness (IRAE). The IRAE value was defined as the ratio of the P_f quantity, taken up by a crop, of a tested fertilizer over the P_f quantity, taken up by a crop, of a fertilizer used as standard. In our experiments diammonium phosphate (DAP) was used as standard P fertilizer and two rock phosphates, the North Carolina rock phosphate (NCPR) and a calcium-iron-aluminium phosphate (Phospal), were tested. As a linear relationship between P_f(NCPR) quantities and P_f(DAP) quantities was obtained, with r² = 0.95, when the application rates increased from 15 mgP (kg soil)^–1 to 200 mgP (kg soil)^–1, it is conciuded that IRAE values for a given fertilizer, other than the standard fertilizer, could be determined with a single rate of application. As regards soil pH in the range 4.7 to 8.2 the IRAE_NCPR is related to soil pH by a curvilinear relationship: log IRAE_NCPR = –(0.44) pH + 4.05 with r² = 0.89. The average of IRAE_phospal values was 0.15 with a standard error = 7% irrespective of soil pH. Then a logarithmic relationship was obtained between IRAE values of the two tested fertilizers and their water P-solubility determined at the soil pH where they were applied.     

Electrochemical Direct Fluorination of Lactams

The electrochemical fluorination of a variety of N-protected lactams was carried out and Et₃N–5HF was found to be superior to Et₃N–3HF as the electrolyte. When 5- and 6-membered N-acetyl or ethoxycarbonyl lactams were used as substrates, the fluorination reaction selectively took place at the α-position of the lactam nitrogen and the corresponding monofluoro products could be obtained in good yields.     

Influence of some compounds on gentamicin formation by Micromonospora purpurea

Production of gentamicin antibiotics by Micromonospora purpurea was carried out successfully on a synthetic medium which contained the following ingredients (g/litre): glucose 10.0, NaNO₃ 2.0, KH₂PO₄ 1.0, and CaCO₃ 1.0. The initial pH value of the fermentation medium was adjusted to 7.2. Effects of certain amino acids, organic acids, vitamins, purine and pyrimidine bases on the fermentative production of gentamicins were revealed. The ingredients which increased the antibiotic yields were phenylalanine, isoleucine, lysine, methionine, leucine, arginine, glycine, β-alanine, cystine, tryptophan, malic acid, maleic acid, cobalamin, folic acid, riboflavin, vitamin B₁, vitamin B₆, biotin, nicotinamide, uracil, adenine, guanine and adenosine. Trace elements (Co, Mo, Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn) exhibited their important role on the biosynthesis and formation of gentamicins by Micromonospora purpurea.     

Influence of some compounds on gentamicin formation by Micromonospora purpurea

Production of gentamicin antibiotics by Micromonospora purpurea was carried out successfully on a synthetic medium which contained the following ingredients (g/litre): glucose 10.0, NaNO₃ 2.0, KH₂PO₄ 1.0, and CaCO₃ 1.0. The initial pH value of the fermentation medium was adjusted to 7.2. Effects of certain amino acids, organic acids, vitamins, purine and pyrimidine bases on the fermentative production of gentamicins were revealed. The ingredients which increased the antibiotic yields were phenylalanine, isoleucine, lysine, methionine, leucine, arginine, glycine, β′-alanine, cystine, tryptophan, malic acid, maleic acid, cobalamin, folic acid, riboflavin, vitamin B₁, vitamin B₆, biotin, nicotinamide, uracil, adenine, guanine and adenosine. Trace elements (Co, Mo, Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn) exhibited their important role on the biosynthesis and formation of gentamicins by Micromonospora purpurea.     

Field study of the fate of labelled fertilizer nitrate applied to barley and maize in sandy soils

The recovery in crop and soil of labelled fertilizer nitrate applied to barley and maize growing on a sandy soil was measured. The experimental plots, each measuring 4m × 4m, were situated on fields growing with barley and with maize. The barley received 50 kg N/ha as KNO₃ enriched with 5.99 At.%¹⁵N excess while the maize received 113 kg N/ha as KNO₃ labelled with 5.014 At.%¹⁵N excess. Otherwise, the plots were treated the same as the rest of the field. At harvesting, the barley and the maize plots were subdivided into nine and six sub-plots respectively. Plant samples, including the roots and soil samples up to 1 m depth were collected in each sub-plot. Fertilizer N recovery in the samples was measured. In the plants, the N derived from the fertilizer (Ndff) was 24.0% and 16.7% in barley and maize, respectively. The percentage of the applied fertilizer recovered by barley was 57%; for maize, only 18%. The movement of fertilizer N was restricted to the top 50 cm in the barley plot, whereas in the maize plot, the fertilizer N could be detected down to 90 cm. The amount of fertilizer N remaining in the soil at harvest was 32% for the barley and 68% for the maize plot. The loss of fertilizer N under barley was 10% and 14% under maize. The loss was attributed mainly to denitrification. The means and the variances of total N uptake by plants inside the¹⁵N plot and outside the¹⁵N plot were compared. They did not differ significantly, indicating that the results obtained from the¹⁵N plot can be extrapolated to the rest of the field.     

Studies of substrate specificities of lipases from different sources

Although lipases are widely applied in a wide variety of reactions, available information on the factors that are responsible for the substrate specificities of lipases from different sources is scarce. In this paper, nine lipase‐producing microorganism strains were isolated from oil‐containing samples. The properties of these enzymes, including pH optima, temperature optima, thermal stability, and pH stability, vary significantly with the different sources from which these lipases were isolated. The substrate specificities of the nine lipases, including fatty acid and positional specificities, were also studied. The fatty acid specificities of the nine lipases were observably different toward 15 substrates with different carbon chain lengths, different saturation degrees and different side chains. The lipases from S₃ Penicillium citrinum (PCL), MJ₁ Aspergillus niger (ANL), MJ₂ Aspergillus oryzae (AOL), YM Bacillus coughing (BCL), S₉ Geotrichum candidum (GCL), and S₁₁ Candida lypolytica (CLL) showed the strongest specificities to short‐chain esters, and the other lipases showed strong selectivity for medium‐ or long‐chain and branched esters. The positional specificities were examined by analyzing the hydrolytic products of triolein catalyzed by the nine lipases, using TLC. The lipases can be mainly classified into two groups by their specificities for the ester bond at position 2 of triglycerides; one group can selectively hydrolyze the ester bond at position 2 of the triglycerides, the other group cannot. All these nine lipases were divided into four groups by hierarchical clustering analysis on the basis of the results of fatty acid and positional specificities.     

Kinetics of barley FA hydroperoxide lyase are modulated by salts and detergents

The cDNA from barley coding FA hydroperoxide lyase (HPL) was cloned. A recombinant protein derived from the cDNA was expressed in Escherichia coli as an active enzyme. Thus far, there have been no reports on HPL in monocotyledonous plants. The recombinant protein was shown to be most active to linolenic acid 13-hydroperoxide, followed by linoleic acid 13-hydroperoxide. 9-Hydroperoxides of the FA could not be substrates for the recombinant HPL. The activity was dramatically enhanced in the presence of a detergent and/or a salt in the reaction mixture. At the same time, the kinetics of the reaction, including inactivation and the V _max value of the HPL, were also greatly modulated, depending on the concentration of a monovalent cation and/or a detergent in the reaction mixture. These results suggest that these effectors induced a conformational change in barley HPL, resulting in an improvement in substrate binding and in enzyme activity.     

Nitrogen fertigation of greenhouse-grown strawberries

Two greenhouse experiments were conducted with strawberries (Fragaria ananassa) grown in plastic pots filled with 12 kg of soil, and irrigated by drip to evaluate the effect of 3 N levels and 3 N sources. The N levels were 3.6, 7.2 or 10.8 mmol Nl^–1 and the N sources were urea, ammonium nitrate and potassium nitrate for supplying NH₄/NO₃ in mmol Nl^–1 ratios of 7/0, 3.5/3.5 or 0/7, respectively. Both experiments were uniformly supplied with micronutrients and 1.7 and 5.0 mmoll^–1 of P and K, respectively. The fertilizers were supplied through the irrigation stream with every irrigation. The highest yield was obtained with the 7.2 mmol Nl^–1 due to increase in both weight and number of fruits per plant. With this N concentration soil ECe and NO₃-N concentration were kept at low levels. Total N and NO₃-N in laminae and petioles increased with increasing N level. With the N sources the highest yield was obtained with urea due to better fruit setting. The N source had no effect on soil salinity and residual soil NO₃-N; residual NH₄-N in the soils receiving urea and ammonium nitrate were at low levels.     

Structural and physicochemical characterization of hemicelluloses isolated by alkaline peroxide from barley straw

Seven hemicellulosic preparations were obtained from barley straw by extraction with 1.5% H₂O₂ at pH 12.0 for 14 h at 45 °C with extractant to straw ratios of 10:1, 13:1, 15:1, 18:1, 20:1, 25:1 and 30:1. The respective yields of dissolved hemicelluloses were 28.4 wt%, 28.8 wt%, 29.7 wt%, 30.1 wt%, 30.6 wt%, 30.8 wt% and 30.8 wt% or dry barley straw, corresponding to release of 78.7%, 79.8%, 82.3%, 83.4%, 84.8%, 85.3% and 85.3% of the original hemicelluloses. The polymers were mainly composed of xylose, arabinose, glucose, galactose and 4-O-methyl-D -glucuronic acid (59.3–62.6%, 19.7–22.0%, 8.8–12.5%, 5.6–6.9% and 5.8–6.7%, respectively) and had weight-average molecular weights of between 38 470 and 41 050 g mol⁻¹.¹³ CNMR spectroscopy confirmed the results obtained by chemical methods, and showed that the hemicellulosic fraction was mostly by L -arabino-(4-O-methyl-D -glucurono)-D -xylan. More importantly, it was found that lignin provides some protection for the hemicelluloses in barley straw against attack by hydrogen peroxide. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry     

Nitrogen fertilizer value of activated sewage derived protein: Effect of environment and nitrification inhibitor on NO 3 - release,soil microbial activity and yield of summer cabbage

Yield response of summer cabbage (Brassica oleracea varcapitata cv. Hispi F₁) to N applied as organic (activated sewage sludge derived protein [Protox] and dried blood) and inorganic (ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulphate, sodium nitrate and urea) fertilizers was compared in relation to the N availability characteristics of the materials. Effects of the nitrification inhibitor dicyandiamide (DCD) on N release, crop yield and N status were also assessed. In addition CO₂ efflux was measured from amended soil to determine effects of fertilizer application on soil microbial activity. The organic N sources were mineralized quickly on application to soil and exhibited similar patterns of NH₄-N depletion and NO₃-N accumulation as functions of thermal-time as with mineral fertilizers. However, the yield response to organic N was marginally smaller (though not significantly) compared with mineral forms; probably because less N was released to the crop. This was reflected in smaller total N concentrations and N recoveries in plants supplied with organic fertilizer. Applied DCD increased the thermal-time for complete nitrification of NH₄-N sources and raised the total N content of the crop, but had no overall effect on crop growth. In contrast to inorganic N sources which generally reduced CO₂ efflux from soil, application of protein-based fertilizers increased the rate of soil microbial activity directly by raising substrate availability. Sewage sludge derived protein provided an effective alternative to mineral fertilizers for the nutrition of summer cabbage whilst minimising stress of the soil environment which may occur following the application of conventional forms of inorganic N to the soil.     

Oil and fat hydrolysis with lipase fromAspergillus sp.

Hydrolysis of olive oil, soybean oil, mink fat, lard, palm oil, coconut oil, and a hydrogenated, hardened oil with lipase from anAspergillus sp. has been studied. The lipase had high specific activity (60,000 U/g) and did not show any positional specificity. The lipase proved to be a more effective catalyst than Lipolase fromA. oryzae, with an optimal activity at 37°C and pH 6.5–7.0. It was activated by Ca²⁺ but inactivated by organic solvents such as isopropanol and propanone. All substrates examined could be hydrolyzed to corresponding fatty acids with this enzyme at concentrations of 5–30 U/meq with yields of 90–99% in 2–24 h. The degree of hydrolysis was almost logarithmically linear with reaction time and occurred in two stages. The lipase was stable and could be repeatedly recycled for hydrolysis.