Computational modelling approach for the optimization of apple juice clarification using immobilized pectinase and xylanase enzymes

Advances in the understanding of the production, modification and applications of xylanases in the food industry

Xylanases have broad applications in the food industry to decompose the complex carbohydrate xylan. This is applicable to enhance juice clarity, improve dough softness, or reduce beer turbidity. It can also be used to produce prebiotics and increase the nutritional value in foodstuff. However, the low yield and poor stability of most natural xylanases hinders their further applications. Therefore, it is imperative to explore higher-quality xylanases to address the potential challenges that appear in the food industry and to comprehensively improve the production, modification, and utilization of xylanases. Xylanases, due to their various sources, exhibit diverse characteristics that affect production and activity. Most fungi are suitable for solid-state fermentation to produce xylanases, but in liquid fermentation, microbial metabolism is more vigorous, resulting in higher yield. Fungi produce higher xylanase activity, but bacterial xylanases perform better than fungal ones under certain extreme conditions (high temperature, extreme pH). Gene and protein engineering technology helps to improve the production efficiency of xylanases and enhances their thermal stability and catalytic properties.

Recent Advances and Perspectives on Food-Grade Immobilisation Systems for Enzymes

The use of enzyme immobilisation is becoming increasingly popular in beverage processing, as this method offers significant advantages, such as enhanced enzyme performance and expanded applications, while allowing for easy process termination via simple filtration. This literature review analysed approximately 120 articles, published on the Web of Science between 2000 and 2023, focused on enzyme immobilisation systems for beverage processing applications. The impact of immobilisation on enzymatic activity, including the effects on the chemical and kinetic properties, recyclability, and feasibility in continuous processes, was evaluated. Applications of these systems to beverage production, such as wine, beer, fruit juices, milk, and plant-based beverages, were examined. The immobilisation process effectively enhanced the pH and thermal stability but caused negative impacts on the kinetic properties by reducing the maximum velocity and Michaelis-Menten constant. However, it allowed for multiple reuses and facilitated continuous flow processes. The encapsulation also allowed for easy process control by simplifying the removal of the enzymes from the beverages via simple filtration, negating the need for expensive heat treatments, which could result in product quality losses.

Formation and detection of biocoronas in the food industry and their fate in the human body

The rapid advancement of nanotechnology has opened up new avenues for applications in all stages of the food industry. Over the past decade, extensive research has emphasized that when nanoparticles (NPs) enter organisms, they spontaneously adsorbed biomolecules, leading to the formation of biocorona. This paper provided a detailed review of the process of biocorona formation in the food industry, including their classification and influencing factors. Additionally, various characterization methods to investigated the morphology and structure of biocoronas were introduced. As a real state of food industry nanoparticles in biological environments, the biocorona causes structural transformations of biomolecules bound to NPs, thus affecting their fate in the body. It can either promote or inhibit enzyme activity in the human environment, and may also positively or negatively affect the cellular uptake and toxicity of NPs. Since NPs present in the food industry will inevitably enter the human body, further investigations on biocoronas will offer valuable insights and perspectives on the safety of incorporating more NPs into the food industry.

Effects of inoculation with a binary mixture of Lactobacillus plantarum and Leuconostoc citreum on cell wall components of Chinese Dongbei suancai

This study aimed to investigate the effects of inoculation with a starter culture consisting of Lactobacillus plantarum LNJ002 and Leuconostoc citreum BNCC 194779 on microbial community, cell wall polysaccharide characteristics, cell wall degrading enzymes, and microstructure during Chinese Dongbei suancai fermentation. The results showed that Lactobacillus (98.75%) was the dominant genus during fermentation of Dongbei suancai. The principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) suggested that inoculation with Lactobacillus promoted the stability of microbial community structure during Chinese Dongbei suancai fermentation. Besides, the lower content in cellulose (80.28 ± 2.61 ug/mg) and pectin (53.56 ± 2.67 ug/mg) observed in the inoculated fermented suancai. Simultaneously, the inoculated fermented suancai had the most decreases in SR 1 (70.35%) and SR 3 (72.06%) and the most increase in SR 2 (950%), which suggested that inoculation intensified the decrease of the linearity and the RG-1 branching degree of pectin. The contents of polygalacturonase (PG) and pectin methylesterase (PME) in inoculated fermented suancai were 21.06% and 21.86% higher than those in naturally fermented suancai. In addition, the surface of suancai leaves gradually changed from smooth to rough during fermentation, which was accelerated by inoculation. Moreover, Lactobacillus, Aspergillus, Wallemia and Mucor were all negatively correlated with cellulose and GalA. These results revealed that inoculation promoted the formation of dominant genus structure during suancai fermentation, changed the effects of enzymes on the degradation of cell wall components, thereby accelerated the formation of Chinese Dongbei suancai texture.

Fungal pectinases: an insight into production, innovations and applications

The fungal system holds morphological plasticity and metabolic versatility which makes it unique. Fungal habitat ranges from the Arctic region to the fertile mainland, including tropical rainforests, and temperate deserts. They possess a wide range of lifestyles behaving as saprophytic, parasitic, opportunistic, and obligate symbionts. These eukaryotic microbes can survive any living condition and adapt to behave as extremophiles, mesophiles, thermophiles, or even psychrophile organisms. This behaviour has been exploited to yield microbial enzymes which can survive in extreme environments. The cost-effective production, stable catalytic behaviour and ease of genetic manipulation make them prominent sources of several industrially important enzymes. Pectinases are a class of pectin-degrading enzymes that show different mechanisms and substrate specificities to release end products. The pectinase family of enzymes is produced by microbial sources such as bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, plants, and animals. Fungal pectinases having high specificity for natural sources and higher stabilities and catalytic activities make them promising green catalysts for industrial applications. Pectinases from different microbial sources have been investigated for their industrial applications. However, their relevance in the food and textile industries is remarkable and has been extensively studied. The focus of this review is to provide comprehensive information on the current findings on fungal pectinases targeting diverse sources of fungal strains, their production by fermentation techniques, and a summary of purification strategies. Studies on pectinases regarding innovations comprising bioreactor-based production, immobilization of pectinases, in silico and expression studies, directed evolution, and omics-driven approaches specifically by fungal microbiota have been summarized.

Development and DoE-ANN based optimization of novel swellable matrix-diffusible doxorubicin loaded zinc oxide nanoflowers using sonochemical-precipitation method

This research aimed to acquire doxorubicin loaded zinc oxide nanoflowers (DOX-ZnO-NFs) for intracellular drug cargo possessing a synergistic in-vitro anticancer activity with minimal toxicity. Zinc is the main inorganic metallic component of various enzyme systems and has the possibility of fabrication into the diverse nano-structural forms. An easy absorption and extensive tissue distribution of zinc have made it unique candidate for drug delivery system. Hence, the zinc oxide nanoflowers were prepared with sonochemical-precipitation. The developed system was characterized using the reported methods and was optimized employing design of experiment, coupled with artificial neural network approach. The optimized nanoflowers (DOX-ZnO-NFV) were anionic with particle size of 24 ± 0.05 nm, polydispersity index of <0.5, a zeta potential of -25.68 ± 0.16 mV, yield of 87.40% and encapsulation efficiency of 85.25%. DOX-ZNO-NFV depicted sustained DOX release, around 65.413% release in 30 h at pH 7.4 and assumed Weibull model with its derived parameters, a and b of 22.77 and 0.918, respectively. DOX-ZnO-NFV remained stable on storage for 3 months at 4° C/50% RH and 25° C/60% RH. DOX-ZnO-NFV displayed a zone of inhibition of 13.50 ± 1.25 mm and 25.50 ± 0.98 mm, respectively against gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and gram-negative Escherichia coli strains, presenting the nanoflowers as self-preservative. DOX-ZnO-NFV exhibited higher in-vitro anticancer activity in Henrietta Lacks cell line, with least hemolysis compared to the free DOX and ZnO-NF. Thus, doxorubicin loaded zinc oxide nanoflowers envisioned to act as better chemotherapeutic cargos with the maximize anticancer activity and minimal toxicity.

The difference of the cell wall metabolism between ‘Fuyan’ and ‘Dongbi’ longans and its relationship with the pulp breakdown

The aims of present works were to explore the difference in pulp breakdown of 'Fuyan' and 'Dongbi' longans and its relationship with cell wall metabolism. Comparison with 'Fuyan' longan fruit, postharvest 'Dongbi' longan fruit showed lower pulp breakdown index, lower activities of PE, PG, cellulase, β-Gal, XET, and lower expression levels of their corresponding genes. In addition, higher levels of cell wall polysaccharides including ISP, CSP, cellulose and hemicellulose were exhibited in 'Dongbi' longan pulp. These findings implied that, the reduced activities of enzymes and the down-regulated expressions of genes-involved in cell wall disassembly were shown in 'Dongbi' longan pulp, which might reduce the dissolution of polysaccharides and maintain a higher structural integrity in 'Dongbi' longan pulp cell wall, and consequently the mitigated pulp breakdown was displayed in 'Dongbi' longan during storage.

Distribution and Stability of Polyphenols in Juices Made from Traditional Apple Cultivars Grown in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The present research was undertaken to investigate polyphenolic profiles of peel, pulp and juices made from two standard commercial and five traditional apple cultivars from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The main goal of the study was to monitor the distribution and changes of polyphenolic profiles through different phases of apples' processing into cloudy and clear juices, with regard to L-ascorbic acid pretreatment. Quantitative determination of phenolic compounds was carried out by using high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection. The obtained results showed that traditional cultivars, namely 'Paradija' and 'Prijedorska zelenika', displayed significantly higher content of these compounds compared to commercial ones. Flavan 3-ols and flavonol glycosides were mostly found in peels of all cultivars (21.2-44.1 and 5.40-33.3%, respectively), while phenolic acids along with flavan 3-ols were predominant in the pulp (8.20-30.8 and 5.10-13.9%, respectively). Apples' processing into juices caused decrease (more than 90%) in the content of all polyphenols and the distribution of these compounds from fruits to final products had a negative trend, particularly evident in clear juices. The most drastic loss occurred in the flavonol glycosides and dihydrochalcones content, while chlorogenic acid displayed quite stable distribution from apples to final products due to its good solubility. Apple mash pretreatment with L-ascorbic acid had a positive impact on the preservation and retention of polyphenols.

Characterization of lemon peel powder and its application as a source of pectin degrading enzyme in clarification of cloudy apple juice

The presence of pectin in the apple peel creates undesirable turbidity and sediment in the final juice and hence clarification is a necessary step for producing consumer-friendly apple juice. This study aimed at evaluating the potential of lemon peel powder as a source of reusable pectinase enzyme in the clarification of apple juice. In this study, optimization of the amount of lemon peel powder addition and incubation time was carried out to produce an apple juice of acceptable clarity. Lemon peel powder as an enzyme source having an activity of 2804.4 U/g could be successfully used up to 5 cycles of pectin hydrolysis. Pectinase enzyme in the lemon peel powder had greater stability at 4 °C with an 11.11% decrease in enzyme activity on 60th day of storage. Treatment with 0.5% w/v lemon peel powder at an incubation time of 90 min was found to be optimum as it produced a clarified apple juice with good sensory acceptability. Lemon peel powder as a naturally immobilized pectinase source was found to be effective in producing clear apple juice.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-021-05270-7.

Biotransformation of chemical components of rare cultures under the action of the enzyme preparation Trenolin Opti DF

The technological process of processing rare crops requires the use of enzyme preparations to soften the pulp and destroy the structure of polysaccharides, as well as increase the content of sugars, namely glucose and sucrose. Biochemical indicators of the quality of the fruits of krebs and chenomelys in the varietal section have been determined. The effect of the enzyme preparation - Trenolin Opti DF on the extraction of vitamins and polyphenolic substances has been investigated. The effectiveness of the enzyme preparation was judged by the biotransformation of the chemical components of the crushed mass from the fruits of rare crops. The effect of the enzyme preparation on the output and quality of fruit juice has been established.

Continuous Clarification of Barberry Juice with Pectinase Immobilised by Oxidized Polysaccharides

Research background

Barberry juice is a rich source of bioactive compounds and shows different health properties such as antioxidant and anticancer activities. Clarification, as the removal process of suspended material, is an important step in the production of fruit juice due to its significant effect on the appearance, flavour and commercialisation of juice. Pectinase is the most important enzyme applied in juice clarification that breaks down the pectin polymer structure and reduces the undesirable turbidity. Pectinase immobilisation is a way to overcome free enzyme drawbacks such as instability, high cost, the difficulty of recovery and recyclability. Also, continuous clarification process which is highly preferred in fruit juice industry is not possible without enzyme immobilisation.

Experimental approach

Pectinase enzymes were immobilised on the functionalised glass beads (glass bead with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane) by glutaraldehyde, polyaldehyde derivatives of pullulan and kefiran and the barberry juice was clarified in the batch and continuous processes in a packed bed reactor (PBR). Also, the effect of clarification on the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of the barberry juice samples was evaluated.

Results and conclusions

The optimum conditions for clarification in the PBR were: flow rate 0.5 mL/min, temperature 50 °C and treatment time 63 min. Clarification led to a decrease in turbidity, pH, total soluble solid content, viscosity, total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of the juice samples. Also, this process increased the clarity, acidity, reducing sugar concentration and the lightness parameter of the barberry juice. The greatest effect of clarification on the studied properties of barberry juice was related to the pectinase immobilised by the polyaldehyde of kefiran in the continuous process and both new cross-linkers (polyaldehyde derivatives of pullulan and kefiran) immobilised the enzyme better than the common cross-linker (glutaraldehyde).

Novelty and scientific contribution

For the first time, barberry juice was clarified with pectinase immobilised by polyaldehyde derivatives of pullulan and kefiran and the obtained results showed that the pectinase immobilisation by these new cross-linkers was much more efficient than by the glutaraldehyde as a common cross-linker. These findings can be of use for an industrialised production of fruit juices.

Optimization of biotechnological processes in the production of apple juice

When obtaining apple juice, the issue of optimizing biotechnological processes is acute. The use of enzyme preparations of different specifics of the action allows you to choose the optimal parameters of the technological process and select the drug taking into account the purpose ofuse. The influence of enzyme preparations: Trinoline 4000, Trinolin DF, Fructocyme P6-L, Lafaze on the yield of juice and biologically active substances in the processing of fruit raw materials was studied. An enzyme preparation that maximizes the yield of apple juice has been isolated. Their effect on the extraction of biologically active substances has been determined.