Mackerel trypsin purified from defatted viscera by supercritical carbon dioxide.

Viscera of mackerel (Scomber sp.) were defatted by supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO(2)) treatment. Trypsin (SC-T) was then extracted from the defatted powder and purified by a series of chromatographies including Sephacryl S-200 and Sephadex G-50. The purified SC-T was nearly homogeneous on SDS-PAGE, and its molecular weight was estimated as approximately 24,000 Da. N-terminal twenty amino acids sequence of SC-T was IVGGYECTAHSQPHQVSLNS. The specific trypsin inhibitors, soybean trypsin inhibitor and TLCK, strongly inhibited the activities of SC-T. The pH and temperature optimums of SC-T were at around pH 8.0 and 60°C, respectively, using N(α)-p-tosyl-L-arginine methyl ester as a substrate. The SC-T was unstable below pH 5.0 and above 40°C, and it was stabilized by calcium ion. These enzymatic characteristics of SC-T were the same as those of other fish trypsins, especially spotted mackerel (S. borealis) trypsin, purified from viscera defatted by acetone. Therefore, we concluded that the SCO(2) defatting process is useful as a substitute for organic solvent defatting process.