Enzymes in food technology – introduction - Enzymes in Food Technology - page 12

Table 1.1 Enzymes widely sourced from animals and plants used in food manufacturing technology.

Enzyme Source Action in food Food applications

α -Amylase Cereal seeds, e.g.

wheat, barley

Starch hydrolysis to
oligosaccharides

Bread making, brewing
(malting)

β -Amylase Sweet potato Starch hydrolysis to

maltose

Production of high malt syrups

Papain Latex of unripe

papaya fruit

Food and beverage
protein hydrolysis

Meat tenderization, chill haze
prevention in beer

Bromelain Pineapple juice and

stem

Muscle and connective
tissue protein hydrolysis

Meat tenderization

Ficin Fig fruit latex As bromelain As bromelain and papain but

not widely used due to cost

Trypsin Bovine/porcine

pancreas

Food protein hydrolysis Production of hydrolyzates for

food flavouring (mostly
replaced now by microbial
proteinases)

Chymosin (rennet) Calf abomasum κ -Casein hydrolysis Coagulation of milk in cheese

making

Pepsin Bovine abomasum As chymosin more

general casein hydrolysis
in cheese

+ Usually present with chymosin

as part of 'rennet'

Lipase/esterase Gullet of goat and

lamb; calf abomasum;
pig pancreas

Triglyceride (fat)
hydrolysis

Flavour enhancement in
cheese products; fat function
modification by
interesterification

Lipoxygenase Soya bean Oxidation of unsaturated

fatty acids in flour

Bread dough improvement

Lysozyme Hen egg white Hydrolysis of bacterial

cell wall polysaccharides

Prevention of late-blowing
defects in cheese by
spore-forming bacteria

Lactoperoxidase Cheese whey; bovine

colostrum

Oxidation of thiocyanate
ion to bactericidal
hypothiocyanate

Cold sterilization of milk

The real breakthrough of enzymes occurred with the introduction of microbial proteases
into washing powders. The first commercial bacterial, Bacillus protease was marketed in
1959 and the first major detergent manufacturer started to use it around 1963. The industrial
enzyme producers sell enzymes for a wide variety of applications. The estimated value of
world market is presently about US$ 2.2 billion. Detergents (30%), textiles (12%), starch
(12%), baking (11%), biofuel (9%) and animal feed (8%) are the main industrial applications,
which use about

80% of industrially produced enzymes.
Industrial enzymes represent the heart of biotechnology. Advancements in biotechnology
and genomics have aided the discovery of fresh enzyme sources and production strains for
commercialization. The operating conditions and performance of enzyme candidates can be
tuned to provide the desired performance.
Enzymes can be used not only for chemical processes, but also for mechanical and physical
processes. An example of a chemical reaction is the use of amylases to replace acid in the
hydrolysis of starch. The use of cellulose degrading or modifying enzymes instead of pumice
stone for the abrasion of denim is a perfect example of enzymes replacing a mechanical

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