Bromelain, applications

Plant Proteases. These include the well known proteases papain, bromelain and ficin. Most plant enzymes are available as comparatively unpurified powder extracts, although papain is notable for being available in a stabilized and purified liquid form. Prospects for increased supply of plant enzymes, in response to greater use in traditional applications or for new processes, depend on several factors. Tlie influence of cultivation conditions, growth cycle and climate requirements make new supplies long term projects. 

Bromelain (from pineapple) has applications in milk clotting. Malt extract from barley has amylolytic enzymes used in beer brewing. 

Bromelain has found application in a wide variety of inflammatory conditions. These include thrombophlebitis, skeletal muscle injuries, hematomas, oral inflammations, diabetic ulcers, and athletic injuries [2,5,88,93]. 

An interesting application is the use of bromelain in the debridement of third degree bums [112], in the treatment of blunt injuries to the musculoskeletal... 

S. I. Ttausrig and S. Bulkin. Bromelain, the enzyme complex of pineapple (Ananas oomosus) and Its clinical application. An update, J. EthnopkanttaeoL 22 191 (1988). 

S. J. Taussig, M. M. Yokoyomo, A. Chinen, K. Onari, M- Yantiftlrido. and Y. Nishimoto. Bromelain a proteolytic enzyme and ils clinical application. A... 

Source. Enzymes for food applications come from all three kingdoms plant, animal, and microbial. Traditionally used plant and animal enzymes are the plant proteases such as papain, ficin and bromelain, plant amylases from malt, and animal rennin which is used in cheese manufacture. Microbial cells are the usual and most promising future source of industrial enzymes. Estimates of the number of microorganisms in the world tested as potential sources of enzymes fall around 2% with only about 25 organisms, including a dozen or so fungi, currently used for industrial enzymes. 

Bromelain The purified proteolytic substance derived from the pineapples Ananas comosus and Ananas bracteatus L. (Fam. Bromeliaceae). Produced as a white to light tan, amorphous powder soluble in water (the solution is usually colorless to light yellow and somewhat opalescent), but practically insoluble in alcohol, in chloroform, and in ether. Major active principle bromelain. Typical applications used in the chillproofing of beer, in the tenderizing of meat, in the preparation of precooked cereals, in the production of protein hydrolysates, and in baking. 

Application and Principle This procedure is used to determine the proteolytic activity of papain, ficin, and bromelain. The assay is based on a 60-min proteolytic hydrolysis of a casein substrate at pH 6.0 and 40°. Unhydrolyzed substrate is precipitated with trichloroacetic acid and removed by filtration solubilized casein is then measured spectrophotometri-cally. 

An interesting application is the use of bromelain in the debridement of third degree bums [112], in the treatment of blunt injuries to the musculoskeletal system [113], and in frostbite eschar removal [114]. It is also used as a potentiating agent in antibiotic therapy [115]. In laboratory medicine it is used extensively in blood group serology [116] and in immunology research [117]. 

H. Ishihara, N. Takahashi, S. Oguri, and S. Tejima. Complete structure of the carbohydrate moiety of stem bromelain. An application of the almond glycopeptidase for structural studies of glycopeptides. J. Biol. Chem. 254 10715 (1979). 

Gallagher et al. [138] investigated the future application of two enzymes, bromelain and a bacillus protease (Bacillus subtilis) in the production of peptides from casein in point of view of the functional properties of the products. Bromelain action resulted in a hydrolysate with a great number of high-molecular-mass peptides this may have improved the functional properties of a food product. The bacillus protease seemed to be more suitable for producing bitter peptides for future research and/or for future food. 

Three other plant enzymes, papain, bromelain, and to a lesser extent ficin, have found acceptance in the food industry as proteases. Papain is derived from the latex of the fruit, leaves, and trunk of Carica papaya, and bromelain from the fruit and stems of pineapple plants. These enzymes are used to prevent the hazing of beer when chilled (Chill-Proofing) by modifying the protein. Other applications for these plant proteases are in meat tenderizers and digestive aids. Ficin from the latex of Ficus carica is used to a much lower extent, perhaps because of its marked action on native protein and difficult handling. Proteases from Aspergillus Jlavus-oryzae, and to a lesser extent from Bacillus subtilis, have been used to replace and supplement these plant proteases in all applications, but papain continues to have the widest acceptance. 

VI.4). Three successive applications of this procedure fully removed the oligosaccharide chains of stem bromelain, a proteolytic enzyme in pineapple stems. Notably, it appears that none of the sugar residues is essential for catalysis by this enzyme." ... 

Carbohydrate Moiety of Stem Bromelain. An Application of the Almond Glycopeptidase for Stmctural Studies of Glycopeptides , Journal of Biological Chemistry, 254,10715-19 Ishimoto, N. Strominger, J.L. (1967) Uridine Diphosphate as the Sole Uridine Nucleotide Product of Hyaluronic Acid Synthesis of Group A Streptococci , Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, 148, 296-7... 

Due to its reportedly high content of a protease, fresh ginger could serve as a source of this enzyme, which could have applications similar to those of papain or other plant proteases (see bromelain and ficin). 

Enzymes from plants have been used since andent times, even though their nature remained obscure until the nineteenth century. Malting of cereals and the hydrolysis of complex polysaccharides are two of the oldest uses of enzymes in human history. Like their animal counterparts, most commerdally available plant-derived enzymes are hydrolases, particularly lipases and proteases. Papain, a cysteine protease from papaya, is the best-known plant-derived hydrolytic enzyme. Bromelain from pineapple and ficain from fig latex are similar cysteine proteases that have also found applications in biocatalysis. Horseradish peroxidase is a versatile oxidative enzyme obtained from its namesake that oxidizes many organic compounds, especially phenols. Hydroxynitrile lyase (often called oxynitrilase) from bitter almond is one of the most important plant-derived... 

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