ASSAY OF MICROBIAL ENZYMES IN OPAQUE SAMPLES

The paper describes a system of colorimetric analysis of opaque liquid samples performed with a new instrument known as an opaque sample ana lyzer (OSA). Alkaline phosphatase, peroxidase, and P-glucosidase were assayed with the OSA in two opaque liquid substrates, cow's milk and m icrobiologically debittered olive brine. The nondestructive OSA analys is of heat-treated and untreated milk samples permitted quantitative e valuation of the reaction products of alkaline phosphatase and peroxid ase with a sensitivity clearly better than that of the qualitative met hods currently employed in routine analyses. The olive brine analysis with the OSA allowed the demonstration, for the first time in this mat rix, of the activity of beta-glucosidase produced by Lactobacillus pla ntarum used as the inoculum to debitter the table olives. (C) 1998 Pub lished by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.