Shiseido Company, Limited

Mitsuo Yanagi

Hiroshi Okamoto

Masahiro Tajima

Toshii Iida

Yuka Fuse

Jiro Kishimoto

Ohji Ifuku

Toshihiko Kaminuma

Ichiro Kato

Kenichi Tomita

Mineyuki Yokoyama

Toshiaki Kobayashi

Uhei Tamura

Ken Kusakari

Tetsuo Sakamoto

Masataka Ogawa

A purified enzyme-I is obtained that participates in C-terminal amidation by acting on a peptide C-terminal glycine adduct to form a peptide C-terminal .alpha.-hydroxyglycine adduct. The enzyme has an optimum pH of about 5 to 7, an optimum temperature of 25 to 40.degree. C. and a molecular weight of about 25 kDa or about 36 kDa, and metal ions and ascorbic acid act as a cofactor. A purified enzyme-II is obtained that participates in C-terminal amidation by acting on the peptide C-terminal .alpha.-hydroxyglycine adduct to produce a C-terminal amidated compound. The enzyme has an optimum pH of about 5 to 6, an optimum temperature of 15 to 35.degree. C. and a molecular weight of about 40 kDa or about 43 kDa. Enzyme-I does not act on the peptide C-terminal .alpha.-hydroxyglycine adduct and enzyme-II does not act on the peptide C-terminal glycine adduct. The enzymes may be purified from a biological material such as horse serum by affinity chromatography using a peptide C-terminal glycine adduct as a ligand. The enzymes may also be obtained from host cells transformed with a plasmid containing a cDNA coding for the enzymes. Assay of activity of the enzymes is carried out by measuring the C-terminal .alpha.-hydroxyglycine adduct or the C-terminal amidated compound that has been isolated such as by high performance liquid chromatography with the use of an acetonitrile-containing buffer.

Method of preparing an enzyme participating in C-terminal amidation

Purified enzymes participating in C-terminal amidation

C-terminal amidating enzyme composition, process for preparing, and use

An improved process for the organ cultivation of a Mishima-saiko root is provided. In the cultivation of a Mishima-saiko root, by carrying out the cultivation while regulating the saccharide concentration to be less than 2%, until the adventitious roots have spread out, and optionally adding an additional saccharide, the productivity of saiko-saponin can be enhanced.

Method of culturing Mishima-saiko

A hair treatment composition comprising 0.1% by weight or more of 3,4,4'-trichlorocarbanilide and 0.03% by weight or more of vitamine E acetate in an aqueous medium. This hair treatment composition can effectively prevent dandruff in the hair without causing adverse side effects to the skin or scalp.

Hair treatment composition for prevention of dandruff in hair

A cosmetic composition comprising at least one compound selected from the group consisting of saturated triesters and tetraesters having a side chain at the 2-position and having the general formula

Cosmetic composition

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Yokohama, Japan

Mitsuo Yanagi