malic, a. Chem.
(ˈmeɪlɪk)
[a. F. malique, f. L. māl-um apple.]
malic acid: an acid (C4H6O5) derived from the apple, the berries of the mountain-ash, and many other fruits. Applied to enzymes whose substrate is malic acid, as malic dehydrogenase; malic enzyme (see quot. 1951).
| 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XVIII. 871/1 The citric and malic acids which I have found in wine. 1801 Encycl. Brit. Suppl. (ed. 3) I. 326/1 Scheele discovered a peculiar acid..which, because it is found most abundantly in apples, has been called malic acid. 1813 Sir H. Davy Agric. Chem. (1814) 107 Malic Acid may be obtained from the juice of apples, barberries, plums, elderberries [etc.]. 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. II. 843 Cider contains malic acid. 1937 H. Tauber Enzyme Chem. vii. 170 Malic dehydrogenase may be prepared by washing frog or ox muscle with M/15 phosphate buffer. 1948 Jrnl. Biol. Chem. CLXXIV. 997 There might be a mechanism for fixation of CO2 by pyruvate other than that involving the ‘malic’ enzyme. 1951 Physiol. Rev. XXXI. 86 Enzymes catalyzing the reversible oxidative decarboxylation of l-malic acid are widely distributed. These enzymes are distinct from malic dehydrogenase, which catalyzes the reversible oxidation of l-malic acid, and are referred to as ‘malic’ enzymes. The majority of the known malic enzymes function specifically with TPN as coenzyme. 1972 Biochem. Genetics VII. 303 Polymorphic variation of the human mitochondrial malic enzyme was detected in Caucasians and Negroes. |