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Conjugation of tomatine with l(+)‐lactic acid by Nocardia restricta

Nocardia restricta conjugates tomatines with l(+)‐lactic acid, which represents a new mode of bioconversion of steroid glycosides. The specifity in cell‐free homogenate was not restricted to α‐tomatine, since δ‐tomatine was transformed to the conjugated metabolite as well. It was shown with inhibitors of protein synthesis that the enzymes responsible for this reaction are constitutive. By using protoplasts and centrifugation it was found that the conjugating activity and the reaction products were bound to the membrane part of the 10,000 × g sediment of the cell‐free homogenate. Possible mechanisms as well as the biological significance of this reaction are discussed.