A rapid and continuous spectrophotometric method to measureβ-glucosidase activity based on p-nitrophenylβ-O-D-glucopyranoside hydrolysis

Abstract

An improved p-nitrophenyl-β-O-D-glucopyranoside method to measure β-glucosidase (EC. 3.2.1.21) activity is presented in which a cyclodextrin is added to the enzymatic mixtures. The inclusion complex consisting of p-nitrophenol and α-cyclodextrin has a higher ε than p-nitrophenol alone, thus increasing the sensitivity of the original method. The proposed method makes it possible continuously to record the formation of the reaction product and, since it is possible to measure the initial reaction rates, the method is suitable for kinetic studies. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.