Method of assaying for acyl-L-carnitines and short-chain acyl-carnitines

摘要

A method of assaying for acyl-L-carnitines including short chain acyl-carnitines including acetyl-L-carnitine and propionyl-L-carnitine in a substance, comprises subjecting a sample of the substance to be analyzed to an enzymatic hydrolysis using an acyl-carnitine esterase. The esterase is produced by Alcaligenes sp. FERM BP-2570 and it has substrate specificity for acyl-L-carnitines including short-chain acyl-L-carnitines. In addition the esterase demonstrates substrate specificity for acetyl-L-carnitine and propionyl-L-carnitine. The enzyme facilitates the hydrolysis reaction of one mole each of the acyl-L-carnitines with one mole of water in which to form one mole each of the corresponding fatty acid and L-carnitine. The amount of the fatty acid and L-carnitine formed is determined by this method.