Purification and properties of arylsulphatase from the brain of the silkworm Bombyx mori

(1) Arylsulphatase of the silkworm Bombyx mori was partially purified using ammonium sulphate fractionation, ethanol precipitation, Sephadex G-200 gel filtration and Con-A Sepharose chromatography. (2) The purified enzyme preparation was not homogeneous but showed no beta-glucuronidase or beta-galactosidase activities. (3) The kinetic properties of the enzyme indicated that it could be classified under type-2 arylsulphatases of vertebrates. (4) The purified enzyme shows very little activity towards p-nitrophenyl sulphate and none towards cerebroside 3-sulphate.