Pectinase

Pectinase is a complex enzyme consisting of pectolyase, pectozyme, and polygalacturonase. It is able to break down pectin, a kind of polysaccharide existing in plant cell wall. Pectin is It functions optimally at temperatures between 45 and 55 °C and pH between 3 and 6.5. Owing to this property, Pectinase is often used in processes demanding the degradation of plant materials such as speeding up the extraction process of fruit juice. More importantly, through breaking down pectin, which is an important diet component of human being, pectinase can positively affect the digestive system, maintain intestinal bacteria balance and promote colon health. Pectinase is also useful during the production of wine for aiding the extraction of flavours from the mash. Pectinase is also used for retting. It is usually obtained from the fermentation of fungi such as Aspergillus Niger.
It is usually an off-white powder, or a brownish yellow liquid. There are three main enzymes that are active ingredients in commercial pectinases. One is pectin pectylhydrolase (EC 3.1.1.11), whose main function is to catalyze methyl ester pectin in order to remove the methyl ester group to produce polygalacturonide bonds and methanol. Another is polygalacturonase (Polygalacturonase; EC 3.2.1.15) whose role is to hydrolyze the α-1,4-bonded galacturonide groups in pectin to reducing sugars. The third is pectin lyase (EC 4.2.2.10), which breaks pectin to yield oligosaccharides. In addition, β-Glucanase (β-Glucanase; EC 3.2.1.6), β-Glucosidase (β-Glucosidase; EC 3.2.1.21) and Xylanase (Xylanase; EC 3.2.1.32) play a secondary role. Acting temperature 40～50°C, optimum pH 3.5～4.0. Iron, copper and zinc ions have obvious inhibitory effects. Soluble in water. Natural products are widely found in higher plants (e.g. citrus, apple, tomato, etc.) and microorganisms.
This product has been enhanced for energy efficiency and waste prevention when used in cellulosic ethanol research.