STUDIES ON POSITIONAL SPECIFICITY OF CASTOR BEAN ACID LIPASE

The acid lipase of castor bean endosperm catalyzed the hydrolysis of fatty acids from the 1 and 3 positions of synthetic glycerides immediately after achieving proper reaction conditions, but fatty acids from the 2 position were not detected in the reaction products until 7 to 10 min later. Results obtained with 2,3-butane dioleate, n-hexyl oleate and 2-hexyl oleate showed that the castor lipase does not cleave secondary ester linkages. These findings suggest that the acid lipase of the castor bean may catalyze hydrolysis of fatty acids from the 1 and 3 positions of triglycerides only; the steady appearance of 2 position fatty acids in the reaction products during lipolysis is probably the result of an apparent isomerization reaction. © 1969 American Oil Chemists' Society.