GLYCOSIDASES OF TROPAEOLUM MAJUS

A number of glycosidases have been qualitatively identified in the seeds of Tropaeolum majus, the common nasturtium. A thioglucosidase, a β-glucosidase, a fructofuranosidase, and an enzyme causing partial hydrolysis of amylopectin and glycogen, have been isolated and partially purified. Hydrolytic activity also indicated the presence of an α-1,1-glucosidase and possibly the presence of a β-galactosidase, although the latter was not separated from β-glucosidase activity. The enzyme responsible for the hydrolysis of the polysaccharides was obtained as a crystalline protein, but the exact nature of the hydrolytic activity has not yet been determined. © 1970.