Laccases are blue multicopper oxidases, which catalyze the monoelectronic oxidation of a broad spectrum of substrates, for example, ortho- and para-diphenols, polyphenols, aminophenols, and aromatic or aliphatic amines, coupled with a full, four-electron reduction of O2 to H2O. Hence, they are capable of degrading lignin and are present abundantly in many white-rot fungi. Laccases decolorize an...

Olive-mill wastewater (OMW), an effluent of olive oil extraction process, is annually produced in huge amounts in olive growing areas. An interesting option for its disposal is the spreading on agricultural land, provided that phytotoxic effects are neutralized. The objective of the present investigation was to evaluate the potential of an enzyme-based treatment in removing OMW phytotoxicity. T...

Latent phenoloxidase activity of hemocyanin (Hc) in whiteleg shrimp Penaeus vannamei was assayed to determine its potential involvement in postmortem melanosis. Conversion of pure 12-mer, but not 6-mer, hemocyanin to phenoloxidase by endogenous (serine proteinases) and exogenous (SDS) effectors demonstrated the need of complex aggregation for displaying enzyme activity. Because Hc was converted...

Tyrosinase is a natural enzyme and is often purified to only a low degree and it is involved in a variety of functions which mainly catalyse the o-hydroxylation of monophenols into their corresponding o-diphenols and the oxidation of o-diphenols to o-quinones using molecular oxygen, which then polymerizes to form brown or black pigments. The synthesis of o-diphenols is a potentially valuable ca...

8 2 ABSTRACT 9 The reaction between m-diphenols (resorcinol, 2-methylresorcinol, 2,5-10 dimethylresorcinol, 3-methylphenol, orcinol, and phloroglucinol) and 2-alkenals (2-11 pentenal and 2-octenal) was studied in an attempt to understand the chemical pathways 12 involved in the scavenging ability of m-diphenols for the 2-alkenals produced as a 13 consequence of lipid oxidation. Phenols reacted ...

The antioxidant activity of the phenolic fraction of extra virgin olive oil was assessed in samples that had a decreasing content of antioxidants in the presence and absence of copper ions as a catalyst of autoxidation. The oxidation process was evaluated by measuring primary and secondary oxidation products. Changes in phenols and tocopherols were investigated by high-performance liquid chroma...

The Strecker-type degradation of phenylalanine in the presence of 2-pentanal and phenolic compounds was studied to investigate possible interactions that either promote or inhibit the formation of Strecker aldehydes in food products. Phenylacetaldehyde formation was promoted by 2-pentenal and also by o- and p-diphenols, but not by m-diphenols. This is consequence of the ability of phenolic comp...

Molecular complexes of 4-(4-aminophenoxy)aniline with a series of diphenols are structurally homologous and adopt the carborundum III topology, which is an unprecedented network for organic solids.