Abstract
Following to the studies on enzymatic hydrolysis of fatty acid esters of riboflavin by pancreatic lipase, the author examined the hydrolysis of these esters by human dijestive juice, i.e., saliva, gastric and duodenal juice. By saliva and gastric juice, these esters were not hydrolyzed. However, these esters were hydrolyzed by duodenal juice to split off riboflavin. Among riboflavin-2', 3', 4', 5'-tetrapalmitate, -tetracaprate, -tetrabutyrate and -tetraacetate, tetrabutyrate was most easily hydrolyzed, followed by tetraacetate, tetracaprate and tetrapalmitate. In the case of tetrabutyrate, the optimum pH and temperature were found at 8.5 and 40℃, respectively.
