Papaya latex, other proteolytic enzymes

Some of the basic information on stabilizing sulfhydryl enzymes, has been responsible for their commercialization. Without the judicious use of reducing compounds throughout the processing of the papaya latex, it would not have been possible to maximize the proteolytic activity of commercial papain preparations. Examples of other studies of enzymes which have contributed to commercialization are the determination of calcium ion as a requirement for amylase stability at high temperature, the difference in properties of catalases derived from bacterial, fungal, or... 

In addition to papain, at least two other proteolytic components have been shown to be present in crude extracts of commercial papaya latex, namely, chymopapain (1,27) and papaya peptidase A (28). Since these isolated enzymes are not used commercially, they will not be considered further. 

Definition Proteolytic enzyme derived from latex of the green fruit and leaves of Carica papaya Properties Wh. to gray powd. sol. in water, glycerin insol. in other common org. soivs. m.w. 21,000... 

Papain is a cysteine protease isolated from the latex of the immature fruit and leaves of the plant Carica papaya. It consists of a single 23.4 kDa, 212 amino acid polypeptide, and the purified enzyme exhibits broad proteolytic activity. Although it can be used as a debriding agent, it is also used for a variety of other industrial processes, including meat tenderizing and for the clarification of beverages. 

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