In biochemistry, an acetylesterase (EC 3.1.1.6) is a class of enzyme which catalyzes the hydrolysis of acetic esters into an alcohol and acetic acid: This enzyme belongs to the family of hydrolases, specifically those acting on carboxylic ester bonds (esterases).
The systematic name of this enzyme class is acetic-ester acetylhydrolase.
Other names in common use include C-esterase (in animal tissues), acetic ester hydrolase, chloroesterase, p-nitrophenyl acetate esterase, and citrus acetylesterase.
As of late 2007, 3 structures have been solved for this class of enzymes, with PDB accession codes 1BS9, 1G66, and 2AXE.
This EC 3.1 enzyme-related article is a stub.