Top Editors ... Enzyme Technology

Title: Enzyme Technology
Date: 19/10/2006
Autor: By Claire Rowan, Managing Editor

Enzymes continue to revolutionise development in every category of the food industry and bring solutions for improving product shelf life and eating quality as well as processing efficiency

So extensive is the use of enzymes today in every area of food production that Biocatalysts draws on the well-recognised food pyramid to communicate how enzyme technology can be applied. At the top of the pyramid,
enzymes can be used to reduce the amount of fat in mayonnaise, for example, and at the bottom, high Glycaemic Index (GI) rye bread with a lighter texture and caramelised crust colour can owe its quality to enzyme technology.
Biocatalysts’ latest developments include enzymes for the production of soluble fibre from wheat bran for use in healthy applications; as well as enzymes in marinades for the production of costeffective, tender meat and seafood.
Due to their high levels of exo-activity, most commercially available enzymes act on insoluble fibre in a way that causes the fibre to break down into sugars and not soluble fibre, according to Biocatalysts, which has developed two new enzymes in this area. Depol 761P is a genetically modified enzyme that has been shown in laboratory trials on wheat bran to increase the amount of available soluble fibre for use in some applications by as much as 46%. For non-GM labelling, Depol 762P is designed to increase the amount of soluble fibre from wheat bran by 19%.
“We would be interested in talking to any company working with potential sources of soluble fibre,” said Caroline West, marketing and customer services manager, Biocatalysts, who explained that plant cell wall breakdown using ferulic acid esterases in particular, is an active area of research for the company. “We feel that there is huge scope for taking undesirable waste products and producing valuable soluble fibre from them that can be added to other end products.”
For marinades, Biocatalysts has developed its new Promod 728P, a fruit based enzyme that acts effectively against
fibrous proteins (such as the connective tissue and the actin and myosin of muscle tissue) and is therefore suitable particularly for meat tenderisation applications. It can be applied by the injection of a solution of the enzyme into the meat; dissolving the enzyme in water as a marinade; or including the enzyme as part of an ingredient blend. As a guideline, a 1% solution of Promod 728P in water produces good tenderisation when injected into meat and held for 24 hours at 4ºC. When dissolved in a marinade at a dose rate of 3g per kg of meat, Promod 728P tenderises products within 3 hours at 4ºC.
Higher yields are always key, and Novozymes is now enjoying the success of its collaborative research work with Chr Hansen as part of the two companies’ strategic alliance. The first fruits of the two companies’ labours is YieldMAX PL – an advanced enzyme solution tailor made for mozzarella and pizza cheese, which can boost yields by approximately 2% under normal conditions. This is the first result of the alliance, and many others for the dairy industry are in the pipeline.
Novozymes has also for many years been carrying out extensive work into the application of enzymes to enable production of fats used for margarine, cakes, biscuits and crisps that are free from trans fats.
Trans fats are normally generated during partial hydrogenation - the old process used for increasing the melting properties of fats. The alternative to this is to opt for fully hydrogenated saturated fats containing no trans fats, but lacking the attractive melting points of hydrogenated fats; or to opt for enzyme or chemical interesterification. For
environmental reasons, enzyme processes are currently finding favour over chemical methods of interesterification for reducing the trans fats content.
“You can avoid formation of trans fats chemically or with enzymes, which have been too costly in the past,” said Hans Christian Holm, marketing manager oils & fats, Novozymes, who explained that the system now involves formulating the enzyme into an inert carrier so it can be used a number of times. “We have been optimising our enzyme technology for over 20 years so we can now provide the same quality finished product on a commercially viable basis without using the chemicals.”
Companies such as ADM are already offering a portfolio of low trans fats oils created using Novozymes’ enzyme
interesterification process, and Mr Holm envisages a strong increase in demand for this technology.
Danisco is building on its enzyme expertise following its acquisition of Genencor last year and has recently
introduced a special enzyme for fruit processing.
Pektozyme Pectolytic Enzymes have been developed as cost-effective enzymes that contribute to the quality, yield and capacity of apple, pear and citrus fruit processing. In the extraction process, the new range of pectinases facilitate the release of juice and solids from the whole fruit, thereby increasing yield and improving cost efficiency, according to Danisco. They give a stable cloud in the final product, and their ability to reduce pectin content and
viscosity can also minimise the risk of jellification during fruit juice concentration and storage.
Adding Pektoxyme to the fruit mash during apple and pear processing reduces its viscosity, according to Dansico, which leads to increased yield and processing capacity, as well as reduced waste pomace and easier cleaning of fruit presses.
The company also extended its range of enzymes for bakery applications with the development, along with Genencor, of Grindamyl PowerBake 4100, which contributes to dough stability, bread volume and the cost effective use of other ingredients for dough strengthening.

Baking enzymes

Baking technology is a core area for many recent developments in enzyme technology. “Research into enzymes for baking has made enormous progress in recent years,” said Dr Lutz Popper, head of R&D at Mühlenchemie. “We now have enzyme systems that were no more than a dream five years ago.”
At Mühlenchemie’s (part of the Stern- Wywiol Gruppe) newly built Technology Centre in Ahrensburg near Hamburg,
Germany, the company tests many different types of flour each day and in particular, it has researched the production of moist, sticky surface doughs, which can cause handling problems in the bakery. Although many enzyme preparations have already been developed to boost baked volume, their disadvantage is often poorer processability of the dough, according to Mühlenchemie, which has now developed a solution to this problem.
“Our tip is Alphamalt TTC, a hemicellulolytic enzyme that makes the surface of the dough dryer,” said Dr Lutz Popper, head of R&D. “In combination with a ‘volume enzyme’ such as Powerzym 6000, it permits large baked volumes while ensuring good machinability.”
Traditional enzymes such as pentosanases have an unspecific effect on the two fractions (the water-soluble fraction
and the high-molecular, water insoluble fraction) of the pentosans (swelling substances in wheat or rye flour, for
example) in dough and can cause it to become sticky and more extensible.
Alphamalt TTC, however, is based on a highly specific pentosanase. According to Mühlenchemie, Alphamalt TTC converts water-insoluble pentosans into soluble fractions that form gels with a high waterabsorption capacity. This leads to a drier dough, and only at very high doses does the addition of Alphamalt TTC begin to impact on the dough’s moisture or extensibility.
Dr Popper has also worked with another Stern-Wywiol Gruppe division SternEnzym to optimise the combinations of amylases, glucoamylase, protease, hemicellulase (chiefly xylanase), cellulase, and sometimes lipase in durable baked goods. He has found that not only do proteolytic enzyme preparations enhance the shape of the baked products and ensure stronger and more even browning; their activity can be even further enhanced by combining
proteolytic enzyme preparations with amylases, such as SternEnzym’s Sternzym BK 11070, at doses of 20 to 70g per 100kg of flour.
This article was reproduced with permission from Food & Beverage
International (copyright Haydon Jackson Publishing Ltd)
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