NEW TARTARIC ACID ETHER COMPOUND-PRODUCTIVE ENZYME, PRODUCTION OF TARTARIC ACID ETHER COMPOUND USING THE SAME, AND NEW TARTARIC ACID ETHER COMPOUND

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an enzyme capable of easily and safely producing through enzymatic process a tartaric acid ether compound useful as a medicine, functional food material or the like, to provide a method for easily producing a tartaric acid ether compound using the above enzyme, and to obtain a new tartaric acid ether compound using the above enzyme. SOLUTION: This enzyme is such one as to catalyze the reaction for producing a tartaric acid ether compound with one or more tartaric acid residues bound via ether linkage (s) by making the phenolic hydroxyl group of a flavonoid or analog thereof bearing the phenolic hyclroxyl group act on the epoxy ring of epoxysuccinic acid. The 2nd objective new tartaric acid ether compound is obtained by making the above enzyme act in the presence of epoxysuccinic acid and a flavonoid or analog thereof bearing phenolic hyciroxyl group; the new tartaric acid ether compound is such one that the epoxy ring of epoxysuccinic acid is bound to the phenolic hydroxyl group of a flavonoid or analog thereof bearing the phenolic hydroxyl group so as to bind one or more tartaric acid residues via ether linkage(s).