Terpinene synthetase

Time-course studies with 14COa showed that in a Thymus sp., y-terpinene was converted into p-cymene and thymol in sequence,916 and the appropriate y-terpinene synthetase (MW ca. 96 000) was partially purified. Tracer studies indicated that loss of a proton from C-5 of the a-terpinyl-like precursor to form the A4-un-saturation was accompanied, perhaps concertedly, by a 1,2-hydride shift from C-4 to C-8 to form y-terpinene.917 Neomenthyl-p-D-glucoside was a major metabolite of menthone in Mentha spp.,918 and a cell-free extract also acetylated menthol.919 Detailed in vivo and in vitro investigations revealed that in leaf discs the bulk of the neomenthol and menthol (produced from menthone) was converted into the gluco-... 

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