Previous studies have reported that lipase activities are usually
membrane-associated and that they can be found in oil body,
glyoxysome, or microsomal fraction of seed extracts, depending
upon the species [17,29]. In fact, lipase localization studies carried
out on oil palm mesocarp [31] demonstrated that the enzyme is
bound to the oil bodies, in agreement with previous data concerning
the association of lipase activity with the lipid layer of oil
palm extract [28]. Also, it was demonstrated that castor bean acid
lipase is associated with the oil body membrane [35] and its catalytic
properties are similar to that of lipases from mammals, fungi
and other plant species [34,36]. The present research evidences, for
the first time, an oil body-associated lipase activity in the olive fruit
mesocarp confirming the data of Olìas et al. [32] which showed that
olive crude extracts were able to hydrolyze olive TAGs and soybean
phospholipids. Such finding extend the knowledge concerning
lipolysis in oil rich fruits.