Enzymes as Catalysts in the Food Industry

Aspartame , Artificial Sweetener through Enzymatic Peptide Synthesis 

Formation of the peptide bond is catalyzed by fhermolysin, a neutral zinc protease (E.C. 3.4.24.4). The advantages of this process are  

The kinetics of this equilibrium-controlled reaction have been worked out in detail (Oyama, 1981a,b). From all the possible ways to shift the equilibrium in favor of synthesis of dipeptide  

addition of water-soluble organic solvents (Homandberg, 1978 Oyama, 1987), 

addition of water-insoluble organic solvents (Oyama, 1981a,b), 

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Sucrose is widely used in the food industry as such or as precursor of invert sugar through its partial or total hydrolysis (Scheme 7.1). Enzymes are the catalysts most... 

Finally, enzyme isolation from microorganisms allows the application of biocatalysts in many other fields and products such as laundry detergents (with the washing machine as reactor), food (cheese, bread), drinks (juice, beer, wine), and feed (enzymes as digestion aid). The food and feed industries in particular replace more and more additives by enzymes, i.e. eatable and digestible catalysts, that result in comparable or even better functional products. 

As a last example of an ultrasound application to catalytic reactions using solid catalysts, we refer to unpublished results. The hydrolysis of inuline (Eq. 12) is catalyzed by acid substances, i.e., inorganic or organic acids in aqueous solution, or acid solids or enzymes. The products of acid hydrolysis are fructose and glucose. Because of the use of the reaction in the food industry, an acid catalyst should not pollute the products at the end of the process. Therefore, solid acids, much more easily separable from the reaction products than liquid acids, must be preferred. In the present work, the employed catalyst was Amberlite IR-120-H (Carlo Erba), that is to say, a solid catalyst with a particle size from 15 to 45 mesh. The reaction was studied in a batch and in a continuous sonicated reactor. 

Enzymes. Enzymes are used in many industries as catalysts. Microorganisms are the favored source for industrial enzymes. Seventy percent of these enzymes are made from Bacillus bacteria via fermentation. Most commercial microbial enzymes are hydrolases, which break down different organic molecules such as proteins and lipids. The enzyme glucose isomerase is important in the production of fructose syrups from corn and is widely used in the food industry. 

Enzymes are used as catalysts in chemical reactions taking place in the food, pharmaceutical and biochemical industries. The reactions carried out under the catabolic action of enzymes do not require extreme conditions (temperature, pH etc.). The advantages are high turnover rates, stereospecificity, production of less... 

Enzymes are the catalysts evolved in nature to achieve the speed and coordination of a multitude of chemical reaction necessary to develop and maintain life. Chemical reactions are far too slow to be effective under the conditions prevalent in normal living systems - aqueous environments with neutral pH values and temperatures between 20 and 40 °C. Even catalysts developed in the chemical industry fall short enzymes in comparison achieve up to 107 - fold faster reaction rates. Mankind has utilized enzymes empirically since ancient times for the conservation or production of food, e. g. in cheese making or brewing. A historical background is given in Table 1-1. The catalytic properties of enzymes were recognized long before their chemical nature was known. We stil. use acceleration of reaction rate to search for unknown enzymes as well as to measure and quantify enzyme activity. 

Enzymes, isolated from their source organisms, are used industrially as homogeneous or immobilized catalysts in the textile and leather, detergent, starch, food, beverages, paper and pulp industries, as well as in bioremediation. Traditionally, enzymes are used as homogeneous catalysts in aqueous solutions. The findings in the mid-1980s that enzymes are also active catalysts in nearly anhydrous environments expanded their potential use considerably. Oils and fats, for example, are now processed with enzymes. 

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