A desmolase is any of various enzymes that catalyze the formation or destruction of carbon-carbon bonds within a molecule. These enzymes play a significant role in cellular respiration and in fermentation.1 Desmolases are involved in steroidogenesis.
Examples of desmolases are:
- Cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme, also called 20,22-desmolase; converts cholesterol to pregnenolone.
- 17,20-Desmolase, also called CYP17A1 or 17α-hydroxylase; converts pregnenolone to 17α-hydroxypregnenolone, and progesterone to 17α-hydroxyprogesterone.
- Diacetyl desmolase is added to beer late in the brewing process to remove diacetyl flavor that may have accumulated during processing.2
References
References
- Wallerstein, Leo (1939). "Enzyme Preparations from Microorganisms: Commercial Production and Industrial Application". Industrial & Engineering Chemistry. 31 (10): 1218–1224. doi:10.1021/ie50358a012.
- Gutcho, Marcia Halpern (1969). Alcoholic Malt Beverages, 1969. Food Processing Reviews #7. Park Ridge, New Jersey: Noyes Development Corporation. p. 221. ISBN 978-0-8155-0282-1.