Tropolone—a compound that can aid in differentiating between tyrosinase and peroxidase

Abstract

In studies dealing with melanogenesis in mammalian tissues, ultrastructural localization of enzymes, identification of subcellular organelles, differentiation and lignification in plant tissues, it is important to have means to differentiate between tyrosinase and peroxidase activities. For a variety of reasons, established criteria used for this purpose are not always reliable. We suggest that tropolone can aid in differentiating between tyrosinase and peroxidase activities since: (a) it is a very effective inhibitor of tyrosinase; (b) in the presence of hydrogen peroxide it can serve as a substrate for peroxidase; (c) at concentrations that inhibit tyrosinase, it does not inhibit peroxidase activity; and (d) it inhibits tyrosinase activity even in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and peroxidase. In a system containing a mixture of tyrosinase and peroxidase, tropolone can differentiate reliably between peroxidase and monohydroxyphenolase or o-dihydroxyphenolase activities of tyrosinase. Moreover, tropolone can differentiate reliably between peroxidase and tyrosinase activities using slices or crude dialysed extracts of various plant tissues.