Purification and characterisation of the cardenolide-specificβ-glucohydrolase CGH II from Digitalis lanata leaves

A cardenolide-hydrolysing β-D-glucosidase was isolated from young leaves of Digitalis lanata. Since this enzyme differs from the cardenolide glucohydrolase (CGH) described and characterised previously, it was termed cardenolide glucohydrolase II (CGH II). CGH II was detected in various Digitalis tissue cultures as well as in young leaves of D. lanata. The latter source was used as the starting material for the isolation and purification of CGH II. The specific enzyme activity reached about 15 pkat·mg–1 protein in buffered leaf extracts. Optimal CGH II activity was seen at around pH 6.0 and 50 °C. CGH II was purified about 600-fold by anion exchange chromatography, size exclusion chromatography and hydroxyapatite chromatography. The apparent molecular mass of CGH II was 65 kDa as determined by SDS-PAGE. CGH II exhibited a high substrate specificity towards cardenolide disaccharides, especially to those with a 1-4-β-linked glucose-digitoxose moiety such as glucoevatromonoside. The Km- and Vmax-values for this particular substrate were calculated to be 101 μM and 19.8 nkat·mg–1 protein, respectively.