Retinyl palmitate hydrolase activity in the bovine retina.

Retinyl palmitate hydrolase (RPH) activity of bovine tissues was estimated from retinol formation following incubation of tissue homogenates with all-trans retinyl palmitate. The quantity of retinol produced in the incubation mixture was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. RPH activities of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), liver, retina, muscle and brain were 194.2, 138.0, 72.5, 25.0 and 5.1 units/gm protein respectively. The RPH activity in the retina was far above that attributable solely to RPE contaminations. The presence of RPH in the retina suggests that retina can utilize retinyl esters for the formation of visual pigments and/or cellular metabolism.