The Lipolytic Action of Staphylococci on Some Pure Triglycerides

In 1901 Eijkman devised a plate method to test for the pres-ence of bacterial lipase using as a substrate beef tallow over which inoculated agar was poured. A positive test was indi-cated by the appearance of opaque spots in the tallow due to the formation of fatty acids. Staphylococci were included among the organisms designated as forming a lipase. Wells and Corper (1912), using toluene water emulsions of large amounts of bacterial growth, tested five different organisms on ethyl butyrate, triacetin and olive oil. Staphylococci were the most actively lipolytic followed in order by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Shigella dysenteriae and Myco-bacterium tuberculosis. They state that "presumably the same enzyme attacks all three esters. " They also concluded that Eijkman's plate method shows only the most active degrees of lipolysis and is solely a relative test for lipase. They were able to demonstrate lipolytic activity in their experiments on the part of organisms which gave negative tests by the plate method. Their method of estimating the amount of fat hydrolysis con-sisted in titrating the mixtures of fats and emulsions of organisms at intervals using N/10 NaOH and phenolphthalein. Orcutt and Howe (1922) reported an investigation of certain strains of staphylococci which were hemolytic only in the pres-ence of fat. This was determined to be due to the production of fatty acids through action of the bacterial lipase. The experiments herein reported were undertaken to deter-mine if there was any relationship between the lipolytic activities