Abstract
The soybean $\beta$-amylase ($\alpha$-1, 4-glucan maltohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.2) is composed of seven isozymes(I', I, II, III, IV, V and VI), and isozyme II and IV are the main components among these. The Purification of $\beta$-amylase isozymes from soybean whey were performed by ammonium sulfate fractionation, CM-Sephadex C-50 column chromatography, DEAE-Sephadex chromatography and Gel filtration. The resulted purity of $\beta$-amylase was throughly confirmed by electrophoresis, and then determined its isoelectric point and molecular weight. The results obtained were as follows, 1. Five active fractions of soybean p-amylase were derived on CM-Sephadex C-50 column chromatography. 2. Seven active bands of p-amylase isozymes were detected by isoelectric focusing gel electrophoresis, and their isoelectric points(I' to VI) were 5.07, 5.15, 5.25, 5.40, 5.55, 5.70 and 5.93, respectively. 3. Isozyme II and IV were main components of soybean $\beta$-amylase. 4. The molecular weights of both isozyme II and IV were determined to be 56,000 daltons by the result of SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. 5. Km values of main isozyme II & IV for amylopectin were determined to be 2.25 mg/ml, which suggest the same function of each isozyme.