Digestives including enzymes Cellulases

The complex nature and interconnectivity of plant cell wall polymers preclude straightforward enzymatic digestion. There are dozens of enzyme families involved in plant cell wall hydrolysis, including cellulases, hemicellu-lases, pectinases, and lignin-modifying enzymes. The Nomenclature Committee of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) has classified cellulases and hemicellulases, like all enzymes, into different classes based on activity. Table 33.2 and Table 33.3, compiled from the IUBMB enzyme nomenclature database (http //www.chem.qmul.ac.uk/iubmb/ enzyme/), list the IUBMB enzyme classifications for cellulases and hemicellulases.153... 

An active cellulase will find many uses other than production of sugar (34, 36). These include removal of unwanted cellulose impurities (33) and breakdown of cell walls to improve extraction of a cell component, or to increase digestibility or nutrient availability of feeds (6, 35). Such uses require a preparation free of enzymes that might attack the residue being purified or the substance being extracted. 

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