Abstract
Measurement of chitinase, β-N-acetylhexosaminidase, and lysozyme activity in 98species of seaweed were carried out. Chitinase activity was detected in 30 species of Rhodophyta and 1 species of Phaeophyta. β-N-acetylhexosaminidase activity was found in 11 species of Rhodophyta, 2 species of Phaeophyta, and 3 species of Chlorophyta. No lysozyme activity was detected in any of the species. Optimum pH of chitinase was observed to be pH 3.5 and 9.0 in Chondrus giganteus and pH 4.0 in Gigartina mikamii and optimum temperature was observed to be 60°C in both species. Activity was lost in Chondrus giganteus and was decreased to 20% in Gigartina mikamii by heat treating for 60min at 80°C. These properties resembled those of chitinase found in higher plants.
