Invertase & invertase inhibitor in potato

Abstract

The apparent invertase activity of crude extracts of potato tubers has been investigated as a function of post-harvest history, pH, and en-zyme concentrations. The invertase activity was found to be about 1 order of magnitude lower than that recorded in the literature for leaves of potato and other green leaf tissue. The results corroborated previous reports that the apparent activity increases upon sprouting. Preliminary evidence for the presence of an endogenous inhibitor of invertase activity based upon kinetic considerations is presented as well as a simple derivation of the endogenous inhibition equation.