Chitinases from pitcher fluid of Nepenthes distillatoria

Chitinases belong to a diverse family of enzymes among many other hydrolytic enzymes of the pitcher fluid of Nepenthes sp. There are no existing studies on identification of chitinases in Nepenthes distillatoria the only representative of the genus Nepenthes in Sri Lanka. In this study an assay procedure was developed and optimized to detect the chitinolytic activity in the pitcher fluid of N. distillatoria using colloidal Chitin Azure as the substrate. Crude Nepenthes pitcher fluid was subjected to DEAE Cellulose chromatography in an attempt to partially purify and separate chitinases. The optimum pH, temperature and incubation time for the chitinolytic activity were 5.0, 27 °C and 30 min, respectively. DEAE Cellulose Chromatography revealed the presence of more than one type of chitinases within the pitcher juice. Further studies are required to characterize and confirm the origin/s of these chitinases