Assessment of lipoxygenase activity in seed extracts from 35 plant species

Lipoxygenase activity in 35 seed extracts was determined on the basis of hydroperoxide synthesis using linoleic acid as substrate. The results referring to the extracted protein content show that several species of Vigna (V. unguiculata, V. radiata and V. mungo) and one of Trifolium exhibit stronger lipoxygenase activity than soybean enzyme extracts. The pH activity relationship was also established for 4 very active samples. GC-MS analysis revealed equal amounts of 9- and 13- hydroperoxides of linoleic acid in these seed extracts, indicating no enzyme positional specificity.