ABSTRACT
Many substances autoxidize with the formation of O2 −, and in some cases, O2 − participates as a chain-propagating species in the process. The inhibition of autoxidation in the presence of SOD in such cases can be employed for simple assays of the enzyme, including assays based for example, on epinephrine, 1 6-OH dopamine, 2 or sulfite 3 autoxidation. The autoxidation of pyrogallol is highly dependent on O2 − and can be inhibited to 97.5% by SOD. The products formed have a broad absorbance peak at 420 nm. The assay of SOD based on pyrogallol autoxidation 4 has proven convenient and reliable. The reagents are stable and inexpensive. The reaction is linear, which makes evaluation simple. The pH employed is close to neutral, which ensures high activity of all SOD isoenzymes.
