Etude des diphenol oxydases extraites d'une litiere de foret

Study of diphenol oxidases extracted from beech litter. Lyophilized neutral sterile extract from the fermentation (F) layer of beech litter (NALF Extract) exhibited the chemical characteristics of humic acids. It possessed diphenol oxidase activities. The specific activities (sp. act.), given in parentheses, are expressed in nmoles O₂ absorbed mg C^?1 min^?1: p-crcsol (19.5); catechol (0.6); dl-3(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)alanine (5.7); d(+) catechine (4.8) and p-phenylenediamine (7.1). The NALF Extract was polydispersed by G100 Sephadex column chromatography. The firsi peak kd ~ 0.05 (fraction I), the intermediate band (fractions II + III) and the second peak k_d ~ 1.02 and 1.38 (fractions IV + V). Diphenol oxidases were localized in fractions I, II and III. Electrophoretic studies have shown that the fractions I, II and III are heterogeneous. Chromatography on DEAE cellulose of fraction I permitted the separation of 30 per cent of the laccase activity in a form which is free from humic material.