Screening for hydroxynitrile lyase activity in crude preparations of some edible plants

Enzymatic crude preparations obtained from a variety of food plants were screened for hydroxynitrile lyase activity. The results show that crude material from the seeds of the fruits quince, melon, anona and cherimoya as well as the material from the leaves of plum, peach, cherry and mamey biocatalyze the addition of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) to benzaldehyde with good to excellent enantioselectivities.