Activities of Oxidative Enzymes Related with Oxygen Tolerance in Bifidobacterium sp.

To study the relationship between oxygen tolerance and enzyme activity in the oxygen metabolism of bifidobacteria, the activities of catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD), NADH oxidase and NADH peroxidase from six typical bifidobacteria and other bacteria were assayed by spectrophotometry. Catalase activity was hardly detected in any of the bifidobacteria tested. SOD activity was detected in every species including the Clostridium species. In particular SOD activity was notably high in the aerosensitive Bifidobacterium adolescentis. This fact indicates that SOD activity is not a critical factor to ensure aerotolerance. Aerosensitive B. adolescentis showed very low NADH oxidative enzyme activity whereas other aerotolerant bifidobacteria exhibited considerable activity for the enzymes. It seems that detoxification of $H_2O_2$ by NADH oxidative enzymes might be an important factor in improving for aerotolerant bifidobacteria survival rates in an oxygen environment.