Study of immobilized and extracellular invertase of lemon balm

Cell suspensions of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) were permeabilized by Tween 20, Tween 80, ethanol, hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide, and hexadecylpyridinium chloride, and immobilized by glutaraldehyde. The invertase pH optimum was 4.5 at temperature 50°C. The hydrolysis of substrate was linear for 4 h, reaching 60% conversion. The cells had high invertase activity and good stability, and in longterm storage they showed good physicomechanical properties. The culture medium (without cells) was used for the identification and determination of extracellular enzyme activity. Intracellular activity was estimated from the cell suspension. For the lemon balm cell suspension, the intracellular activity accounted for 83.7% of the total activity, and the extracellular one for 12.7%. The intracellular specific activity is 4.2 times higher. Our method permits the rapid, simple, and specific identification and determination of plant invertase.