title: Enzyme reagents from unusual sources.
abstract: Although microbes are frequent sources of clinically useful enzymes, there are certain biocatalysts which appear to be enriched in, or more naturally available from nonmicrobes. This paper highlights several of these enzyme reagents, and illustrates their potential or actual clinical diagnostic uses. These reagents include: an enzyme extract containing both glucose oxidase and mutarotase activities from peppers; a bilirubin-degrading enzyme from orange peels; a gentisic acid metabolizing activity from onions; and enzymes from snails which catalyze the detoxification of cyanide by divergent mechanisms.
authors: Department of Clinical Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors: T W
authors: TW
authors: Wu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002238:Carbohydrate Epimerases / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003485:Cyanates / Q000378:metabolism; D004798:Enzymes / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology; D005841:Gentisates; D005949:Glucose Oxidase / Q000302:isolation & purification; D062385:Hydroxybenzoates / Q000378:metabolism; D007202:Indicators and Reagents / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000302:isolation & purification; D044925:Oxidoreductases Acting on CH-CH Group Donors; D010944:Plants / Q000201:enzymology; D012908:Snails / Q000201:enzymology
chemical_list: D003485:Cyanates; D004798:Enzymes; D005841:Gentisates; D062385:Hydroxybenzoates; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D010088:Oxidoreductases; D005949:Glucose Oxidase; D044925:Oxidoreductases Acting on CH-CH Group Donors; C042401:bilirubin oxidase; D002238:Carbohydrate Epimerases; C019646:aldose 1-epimerase; C010925:2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid