Biochemical characterization of polyphenol oxidase (PPO)

Polyphenol oxidases are a group of enzymes widely found in bacteria,fungi,plants and animals.The study was conducted to isolate and characterise Polyphenol oxidase from Artocarpus altilis fruit (bread fruit).In plant chloroplasts, these enzymes are usually found, although they get released from this compartment during senescence or ripening.This enzyme is responsible for the browning of many fruits and vegetables,creating an economic loss to the farmers. Many researchers have worked on extraction and characterization of this enzyme from different plants and still working on its inhibition to prevent the loss.In this project, we have made an attempt to extract the enzyme polyphenol oxidase from the pulp of bread fruit and characterise it.The study has revealed the presence of active Polyphenol oxidase in the pulp of A. altilis which has high specificity for catechol compared to phenol, whose activity lost by TCA, which has optimum pH of 6,optimum temperature of 35 degree celcius,the SDS-PAGE and Zymography technique was employed to determine the molecular weight of enzyme. The forgoing account gives brief insights for future research.