Inhibition of palmito polyphenoloxidase by halide salts

The inhibitory properties of halide salts on palmito polyphenoloxidase (PPO) are described. Halide salts have the same inhibitory effect on the two forms of palmito PPO separated by hydrophobic chromatography. Fluoride and chloride ions showed a non-competitive, mixed type inhibition while bromide and iodide ions were found to be non-competitive inhibitors. A study of the Ki for the different halide salts showed that the smaller F- ion is a stronger inhibitor than I- and Br- and that Cl- has the highest Ki value. This suggests that the active site of the palmito PPO is not easily accessible. The inhibition by chloride and fluoride ion was found to be pH-dependent. The inhibitory effects of these ions increased with a decrease in pH. It is suggested that halide ions (X) could bind to either the protonated enzyme (EH) or the protonated substrate-enzyme complex (EHS) to yield inactive forms EHX and EHSX, respectively.