Natural polyamines inhibit soybean (Glycine max) lipoxygenase-1, but not the lipoxygenase-2 isozyme.

Natural polyamines are shown to inhibit dioxygenase activity of soybean lipoxygenase-1, but they were ineffective toward the lipoxygenase-2 isozyme. The inhibitory power was dependent on the number of basic groups in the molecule, in the order spermine > spermidine > cadaverine >/= putrescine. Both spermidine and spermine acted as uncompetitive inhibitors of lipoxygenase-1 with respect to linoleic acid, the inhibition constants being 2.70 and 0.80 mM, respectively. The inhibitory power apparently correlated with the radical-trapping ability of the polyamines. Spermidine and spermine also inhibited the co-oxidase and peroxidase activities of lipoxygenase-1 and were effective inhibitors of lipoxygenase activity in lentil root protoplasts.