The three enzyme activities, carboxylesterase, aryl acylamidase and cholinesterase activities, have been found in rat and human sera. Rat serum carboxylesterase associated with serum aryl acylamidase activity, but not with serum cholinesterase activity, was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, followed by successive chromatographies on DEAE-cellulose, blue Sepharose and QAE-Sephadex, and then electrophoresis. Evidence for the identity of the two enzymes, carboxylesterase and aryl acylamidase, was their co-elution profiles and co-purification in the different steps, including electrophoresis, with constant ratios of specific activities and percentage recoveries.Human serum carboxylesterase associated with serum cholinesterase, purified earlier, was compared with the rat serum esterase. Human serum carboxylesterase and aryl acylamidase activities were inhibited by serotonin and neostigmine, whereas rat serum carboxylesterase and aryl acylamidase activities were not affected by these compounds. Tyramine activated human but not rat aryl acylamidase. Rat and human serum esterase activities were both strongly inhibited by the diisopropylfluorophosphate. Both esterases catalyzed the hydrolysis of short-chain triacylglycerols, such as tributyrin, and medium-chain monoacylglycerols, such as monocaprin, but not the hydrolysis of long-chain triacylglycerols.Carboxylesterases are widely distributed in animals and plants [I]. In mammals, their highest activities are found in the serum, liver, kidney and intestinal mucosa. Despite the wide distribution of this enzyme, most of its known substrates are foreign compounds that are not normally involved in intermediary metabolism. Thus the physiological function of carboxylesterase is still obscure.We previously reported purification of human serum carboxylesterase by affinity chromatography and suggested that this enzyme was associated with serum cholinesterase [2, 31. Evidence for the association of the two activities in human serum included their co-elution profiles, co-purification at different steps with constant ratios of specific activities and percentage recoveries and co-precipitation by antibody raised against the purified enzyme. Recently, George and Balasubramanian [4] reported that human serum aryl acylamidase was associated with serum cholinesterase. From these findings, it is predicted that human serum carboxylesterase is associated with serum aryl acylamidase and cholinesterase.It was, therefore, of interest to examine the metabolic function of carboxylesterase and to determine whether serum carboxylesterase is generally associated with aryl acylamidase and cholinesterase from different sources. In the present work we purified the carboxylesterase of rat serum and showed that it was associated with serum aryl acylamidase. We also compared the properties of rat serum carboxylesterase with human serum carboxylesterase associated with aryl acylamidase and cholinesterase.Abbreviation. SDS, sodium dodecylsulfate. Enzymes. Carboxylesterase or non-specific esterase...