COMPARATIVE-STUDY OF COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE LIPASES IN HYDROLYSIS REACTION OF PHOSPHATIDYLCHOLINE

Nineteen commercial lipase preparations were compared with respect to their ability to hydrolyze phosphatidylcholine (PC) in a reverse micel lar system. In terms of the source organism, lipases from Mucor or Rhi zopus species showed comparatively high reactivity, while those from A spergillus and Humicola-sp. exhibited little PC hydrolysis activity. A lmost no hydrolysis reaction was observed by positionally nonspecific lipases derived from Candida sp. The results suggest that particular a ttention should be paid to the source organism in selecting lipases fo r use in the enzymatic conversion of phospholipids.