文摘
A novel endospore-based microbial method for 鈥減ost-additional鈥?antioxidant capacity assay was developed. The technique was based on oxidation and catalysis of the 2,2鈥?azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline)-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) by Bacillus subtilis 168 endospores in the presence of dissolved oxygen. Coat protein A (CotA), which belongs to the endospore coat, was expressed, purified, and assessed for its ability to oxidize ABTS into the ABTS鈥? radical cation. The wild-type endospore necessary for oxidizing ABTS into ABTS鈥? radical cation was confirmed by knocking out the cotA gene from B. subtilis 168 by homologous double exchange. Findings revealed that the catalytic activity of the endospores may be attributed to the presence of the CotA protein. The use of endospores instead of purified enzymes to prepare ABTS鈥? greatly reduced the assay cost and eliminated the need to purify and store of enzymes. The self-life of the radical cation was kept stable for at least 12 days without addition of a stabilizer and laccase inhibitor. This behavior enables the large-scale preparation of ABTS鈥?. The antioxidant capacities of the individual antioxidants and fruit samples were easily quantified and compared using the proposed method. The developed technique can be further developed as a high-throughput screening technique for antioxidants.