Application and comparison of proteolytic enzyme preparations in technology of protein hydrolyzates

In Vitro Effect on the Proteolytic Activity of Papain with Proteins of the Skin as Substrate

OBJECTIVE

This work aims to evaluate the effects of enzyme concentration, pH, temperature, and time course degree of hydrolysis (DH) of papain regarding further development of pharmaceutical and cosmetic formulations.

METHODS

The hydrolysis of casein, collagen, keratin, and porcine skin at pH and temperature ranges of the human skin was evaluated. Also, low contact times of enzyme-substrate were studied. The incorporation of 3 mM of cysteine improved the caseinolytic (PU), collagenolytic (CU), and keratinolytic (KU) activities of papain.

RESULTS

In general, the increase from 0.1 to 1.0 or 2.0 mg mL^-1 of papain improved PU, CU, and KU. When 2.0 mg mL^-1 of papain was used, the highest DH of casein, collagen, and keratin were obtained at 240 min (14, 35, and 6%, respectively). The decrease in pH and temperature reduced all proteolytic activities, but papain maintained at least 50 and 40% of its activity at 26 °C and pH 4.5, respectively. Scanning electron micrographs of the surface of the skin showed that papain application had exfoliating activity.

CONCLUSION

This pre-formulation study demonstrated that papain concentration, time of application, and pH of the product should be evaluated when developing a product to promote the hydrolysis of the proteins of the skin.

Characterization of Fish Gelatin Obtained from Atlantic Cod Skin Using Enzymatic Treatment

In recent years, there has been increased interest in the production of gelatin from alternative sources, such as raw fish materials. Traditionally, gelatin is obtained using an acidic or alkaline treatment. However, these methods have some disadvantages, such as the long times for processing raw materials and the use of large amounts of water and chemicals. Furthermore, milder processing regimes are required for producing fish gelatin. Enzymes could be the solution for improving the technology of fish gelatin production, due to their specificity and ability to increase the rate of collagen digestion. In this work, samples of gelatin from cod skin were obtained using enzymes of bacterial (protosubtilin) and animal (pancreatin) origins. The use of enzymes reduced the duration of extraction by 40%, and the yield of the final product was increased from 51% to 58–60%. The dependence of the contents of the main components of the secondary structure of gelatin and its rheological and thermal properties on molecular weight was also established. In this study, the gelatins obtained without enzymes and with protosubtilin were shown to have the most desirable characteristics, namely of the highest molecular weights and the highest proportion of ordered structures.