THE KINETICS OF THE ACTION OF CATALASE EXTRACT 

 FROM MARINE ALGiE, WITH A NOTE ON OXIDASE. 



By HAROLD CLARK HAMPTON and LOURENS G. M. BAAS-BECKING. 



{From the Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University, Pacific Grove, California.) 



(Received for pubKcation, March 1, 1920.) 



There exists, as far as we know, no literature on the catalase of 

 marine algae. The work done on oxidase and peroxidase is scanty 

 and incomplete (Reed, Atkins, and Duggar and Davis). We have 

 started a preliminary investigation of the catalase, peroxidase, and 

 oxidase of marine algae. The present paper deals only with the 

 enzymes of Ulva tceniata Setchell and Gardner, although we worked with 

 different forms. Ulva contains the strongest oxidase, according to 

 Reed.- This fact, and the abundant occurrence of Ulva at Pacific 

 Grove, led us to study this form more particularly. 



Our work is only preliminary, for as yet we have not considered 

 the daily variations and other features of the behavior of the enzyme. 

 We hope to publish soon a more physiological paper on the same 

 question. We worked with one "clan" of Ulva, placed in an aquarium 

 with running sea water, the temperature of which was practically 

 constant throughout our experiments. We always worked upon the 

 youngest plants, but the "physiological error" will remain in our work 

 a source of inevitable inaccuracies. 



Catalase. 



General Remarks. — The alga contained a rather active catalase, 

 as qualitative experiments have shown. To determine its strength 

 we used a manometrical method, elsewhere described by us. A 

 suction flask was connected with a self-recording manometer by a 

 ground joint. This joint permitted thorough shaking of the flask. 

 The suction flask was closed by a ground stopper to which the peroxide 

 container was sealed on the inside. On inverting the flask, the 

 peroxide would pour into the fluid in the flask and the reaction would 



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