• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.222-226
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• 1996

The enzymatic synthesis of 3, 4-dihydroxyphenyl-L-alanine (L-DOPA) was examined for the effects of the reaction additives such as sodium borate, alcohol, and organic solvents. The enzyme used was tyrosine phenol-lyase of Citrobacter freundii KCTC 2006 produced in Escherichia coli. The amounts of tyrosine phenol-lyase and pyridoxal-5-phosphate were optimized to 2.0 units/ml and 0.1 mM, respectively, for the synthetic reaction. Sodium borate, a substance that forms a complex with pyrocatechol, reduced the enzyme deactivation by pyrocatechol although it seriously inhibited the enzyme activity. Among the organic solvents tested, dimethylsulfoxide, dimethylformamide, and alcohol increased the productivity of the L-DOPA synthesis. In a reaction system with 5% methanol, L-DOPA concentration increased up to 210 mM after 24 hours, and 77.1% of which was separated as precipitates. The L-DOPA was purified to 99.96% by solubilizing and recrystallyzing the precipitates.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.44-49
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• 1996

By using the ${\beta}$-tyrosinase of Citrobacter freundii KCT2006, which was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli, 3,4-dihydroxy phenyl-L-alanine (L-DOPA) was synthesized efficiently from pyrocatechol, sodium pyruvate, and ammonium acetate. Optimal temperature and pH for the reaction were determined to be about 18$^{\circ}C$ and 8.5, respectively. The effects of substrate concentrations were also examined at different concentrations of ammonium acetate, sodium pyruvate, and pyrocatechol. Ammoniumacetate and sodium pyruvate increased the reaction rate until the concentrations reached to 300mM and 50mM, respectively. Although pyrocatechol showed the optimal concentration at 20mM, it was controlled between 20mM and 50mM to avoid the depletion of substrate during the enzymatic synthesis. Meanwhile the synthetic rate was improved about 20% when ethanol was included in the reaction solution. Based on above results, a reaction medium for the productin of L-DOPA was prepared and incubated with 1 unit/ml of ${\beta}$-tyrosinase. Pyrocatechol and sodium pyruvate was added to the reaction solutin intermittently to avoid the substrate depletion during the enzymatic reaction. After 24 hour of reaction, 31.6g/l of L-DOPA was accumulated in the reaction solution as soluble and precipitated ones and the conversion yield was about 85.2%.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.30 no.4 s.48
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• pp.499-502
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• 2004

DPPH radical-generating system was used to evaluate the antioxidant properties of the Rosaceae. The inhibitory effects of ethanolic extracts from Rosaceae plants were investigated on melanin biosynthesis which is closely related to hyperpigmentation. Of the Rosaceae extracts, Prunus sargentii, Rubus coreanus, Chaenomeles sinensis, Photinia glabra and Pyrus pyrifolia showed a potent inhibition of tyrosinase, the enzyme which converts 3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl) alanine (dopa) to dopachrome in the melanin biosynthetic process. Furthermore, MMT assay was used to check the cytotoxicity of extracts on the human foreskin fibroblast cell line, Hs68. Among the Rosaceae, bark of Prunus sargentii, bark wood of Photinia glabra and all parts or Chaenomeles sinensis showed more than $50\%$ inhibition of mushroom tyrosinase activity at 100 ug/mL and more than $80\%$ of strong DPPH radical-scavenging activity at 10 ug/mL. In audition to, they had no cytotoxic activity on Hs68. These results suggest that these extracts might be except a controler in pigmentation.

• BMB Reports
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.480-485
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• 1999

Tyrosine phenol-lyase of thermophilic Symbiobacterium sp. SC-1, which is obligately and symbiotically dependent on thermophilic Bacillus sp. SK-1, was purified and characterized. The enzyme is composed of four identical subunits and contains approximately 1 mol of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) per mol subunit as a cofactor. The enzyme showed absorption maxima at 330 and 420 nm, and lost this absorption profile by treatment with phenylhydrazine. The apparent dissociation constsnt, $K'_D$, for PLP was determined with the apoenzyme to be about $1.2\;{\mu}M$. The isoelectric point was 4.9. The optimal temperature and pH for the $\alpha,\beta$-elimination of L-tyrosine were found to be $80^{\circ}C$ and pH 8.0, respectively. The substrate specificity of the enzyme was very broad: L-amino acids including L-tyrosine, 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl-L-alanine (L-DOPA), L-cysteine, L-serine, S-methyl-L-cysteine, $\beta$-chloro-L-alanine, and S-(o-nitrophenyl)-L-cysteine all served as substrates. D-Tyrosine and D-serine were also decomposed into pyruvic acid and ammonia at rates of 7% and 31% relative to their corresponding L-enantiomers, respectively. D-Alanine, which was inert as a substrate in a, $\beta$-elimination, was the only D-amino acid racemized by the enzyme. The $K_m$ values for L-tyrosine, L-DOPA, S-(o-nitrophenyl)-L-cysteine, $\beta$-chloro-L-alanine, and S-methyl-L-cysteine were 0.19, 9.9, 0.36, 12, and 5.5 mM, respectively.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2014

Tyrosinases catalyze the hydroxylation of monophenolic compounds and the conversion of o-diphenols to oquinones. The enzymes are mainly involved in the modification of tyrosine into L-3,4-dihydroxyphenyl-alanine (L-DOPA) and DOPA/DOPAquinone-drived intermolecular cross-linking, which play the key roles of pigmentation to the cells. It is ubiquitously distributed in microorganisms, plants, and animals all around the nature world. They are classified as copper- containing dioxygen activating enzymes; two copper ions are coordinated with six histidine residues in their active sites and they are distinguished as met-, deoxy-, and oxy-form depending on their oxidative states. Natural extraction and recombinant protein approaches have been tried to obtain practical amounts of the enzymes for industrial application. Tyrosinases have been widely applied to industrial and biomedical usages such as detoxification of waste water containing phenolic compounds, L-DOPA as a drug of Parkinson's disease, biomaterials preparation based on the cross-linking ability and biosensors for the detection of phenolic compounds. Therefore, this review reports the mechanism of tyrosinase, biochemical and structural features and potential applications in industrial field.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.736-741
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• 2000

The abilities of petroleum ether-extracts prepared from 75 plants to inhibit tyrosinase activity were evaluated in reverse micelles composed of isooctane/AOT(100 mM)/phosphate buffer(20 mM, pH 8.0) containing tyrosinase(105.3 units/mL) and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine(0.18 mM). Compared with control which has no plant extracts, garlic could completely inhibit in vitro melanogenesis by tyrosinase, and Chinese quince, sweet potato, onion, radish bud and apple did more than 60%. Lipophilic extracts of medicinal plants and herbs such as rosemary, coriander, cinnamomi ramulus, crataegii fructus, ramulus biotae folium, mume fructus, menthae herba, eucommiae cortex and clove also inhibited tyrosinase activity more than 60%. When the extraction yield of lipophilic materials was considered together with their inhibition effect on tyrosinase, it was possible to select plants of which tyrosinase inhibitors could be produced in high quantity from unit weight. Using reverse micelles, the analysis of the capacity of lipophilic materials to inhibit tyrosinase activity which was difficult up to present could be possible.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.541-546
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• 2000

Methods to determine L-dopa(L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine) in aqueous solution by spectrofluorimetry based upon the ligand sensitized luminescence of Tb(III) ion L-dopa complex have been studied. Tb(III) ion and Lu(III) ion were used as ligand sensitized fluorescencer and co-fluorescence enhancer, respectively. The effects of excitation wavelength, pH, concentration of Tb(III) ion, concentration of Lu(III) ion and emission wavelength on the fluorescence intensity were investigated. The fluorescence intensity of the Tb(III) ion L-dopa complex was further increased with addition of Lu(III) ion. The calibration curve for L-dopa was linear over the range from 5.0 ${\times}$ $10^{-7}$ M to 1.0${\times}$ $10^{-4}$ M and the detection limit was 4.0 ${\times}$ $10^{-8}$ M under the optimal experimental conditions of 300 nm, 8.0, 1.0 ${\times}$ $10^{-4}$ M and 545 nm for excitation wavelength, pH, concentration of Tb(III) ion and emission wavelength, respectively. When Lu(III) ion was added to Tb(Ⅲ) ion L-dopa complex, the concentration range of linear response and detection limit were 1.0${\times}$$10^{-8}$ M to 2.0 ${\times}$ $10^{-4}$ M and 1.0 ${\times}$ $10^{-9}$ M, respectively under the optimal experimental conditions of 300 nm, 8.5, 1.0 ${\times}$ $10^{-5}$ M, 1.0 ${\times}$ $10^{-5}$ M, 545 nm for excitation wavelength, pH, concentration of Tb(III) ion, concentration of Lu(III) ion and emission wavelength, respectively.

• Clean Technology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.175-180
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• 2016

Tyrosinases catalyze the hydroxylation of a monophenol (monophenolase activity) and the conversion of an o-diphenol to o-quinone (diphenolase activity), which are mainly involved in the modification of tyrosine residues into 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl-alanine (DOPA) and DOPA/DOPAquinone-derived intermolecular cross-linking. Previously, we obtained a slightly acidic and cold-active tyrosinase, tyrosinase-CNK, by our recombinant protein approach. The enzyme showed optimal activity at pH 6.0 and 20 ℃ with an abnormally high monophenolase/diphenolase activity ratio and still had approximately 50% activity compared with the highest activity even in ice water. Here, we investigated reaction stability of the recombinant tyrosinase-CNK as a psychrophilic enzyme. The enzyme showed remarkable thermal stability at 0 ℃ and the activity was well conserved in repeated freeze-thaw cycles. Although water-miscible organic solvent as reaction media caused the activity decrease of tyrosinase-CNK as expected, the enzyme activity was not additionally decreased with increased concentration in organic solvents such as ethanol and acetonitrile. Also, the enzyme showed high salt tolerance in chaotropic salts. It was remarkably considered that 2⁺ metal ions might inhibit the incorporation of Cu²⁺ into the active site. We expect that these results could be used to design tyrosinase-mediated enzymatic reaction at low temperature for the production of catechols through minimizing unwanted self-oxidation and enzyme inactivation.