A phytase was isolated and partially purified from pollen of cattail, Typha latifolia. Its maximum activity was at pH 8.0 and its Km value was 1.7 × 10-5 M for phytic acid in the presence of Ca2+. Among divalent cations tested only Ca2+ affected the activity, increasing it by about 120%, but an excess was inhibitory. The enzyme was specific for phytic acid except for 6% activity (or p-nitrophenylphosphate. It seems to be a new type of phytase because it cleaved almost 50% of the total phosphate esters in phytic acid and was product-specific, yielding an inositol triphosphate as a final product.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
KARA et al. (1985) studied this question.