Identification and characterization of lipoxygenase in fresh culinary herbs

Abstract

The aim of this project was to study the biochemical characterization of lipoxygenase extracted from basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.), and sage (Salvia officinalis L.) leaves. The lipoxygenase extracted from these culinary herbs was frozen with liquid N2 and ground into powder before adding ice-cold phosphate buffer (pH 7). The crude extracts from the three aromatic plants showed various specific activities and the highest specific activity and the lowest protein content were observed for the basil extracts. The optimum pH values for lipoxygenase extracted from basil and sage ranged between 5 and 6, while pH 6 was the optimum value for lipoxygenase activity for rosemary. The optimum temperature was 40°C for all of the crude extracts analyzed. Considering the biochemical characteristics evaluated for lipoxygenase from each culinary herb, suitable strategies for the inactivation of the enzyme can be proposed in order to reduce its detrimental effects on fresh aromatic herbs.