Industrially Important Enzymes

Saurajeet Dey,B.Sc. Vth SemesterReg No. 13YUS82016

By:Saugat Bhattacharjee

What are enzymes?

Enzymes are biological molecules that catalyze chemical reactions.

The molecules at the beginning of the process are called substrate which when catalyzed by an enzyme, produces Products.

In addition to their ability to speed up reactions, they also provide a controlled environment as they only produce one targeted reaction at a time, so by using them industrially we can control where and when these reactions occur.  

Enzyme changes shape by induced fit upon substrate binding to form enzyme-substrate complex.

Enzymes properties:

Enzymes in Industry

Enzymes have been used in

cheese manufacturing

and food industry.

Isolated enzymes were

first used in detergents in 1914, large

scale production began in the

1960s.

Enzymes are used in brewery and other small and large scale

industries.

Industrial enzyme business is steadily growing, thanks to

improved production

technologies, engineered

enzyme properties and new

application fields

Graph depicting different types of enzymes produced and utilized around the world

Some of the important enzymes are:

Renin Amylase

Cellulase

Renin also known as an angiotensinogenase (A proteinase of

high specificity that is released by the kidney and acts to raise blood pressure by activating angiotensin).

participates in the body's renin-angiotensin aldosterone system (RAAS) that mediates extracellular volume (i.e., that of the blood plasma, lymph and interstitial fluid), and arterial vasoconstriction.

regulates the body's mean arterial blood pressure.

Renin- StructureThe primary structure of renin precursor consists of 406 amino acids with a pre- and a pro-segment carrying 20 and 46 amino acids, respectively. Mature renin contains 340 amino acids and has a mass of 37 kDa.

secreted by the afferent arterioles of the kidney from specialized cells called granular cells of the juxtaglomerular apparatus.

Application An over-active renin-angiotension system leads to vasoconstriction and retention of sodium

and water that leads to hypertension. Therefore, renin inhibitors can be used for the treatment of hypertension measured by the

plasma renin activity (PRA). The differential diagnosis of kidney cancer in a young patient with hypertension includes

juxtaglomerular cell tumor, Wilms' tumor and renal cell carcinoma, all of which may produce renin.

Amylase enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of starch into sugars. Amylase is present in the saliva of humans and some other mammals, where it begins

the chemical process of digestion. The pancreas and salivary gland make amylase (alpha amylase) to hydrolyse dietary

starch into disaccharides and trisaccharides which are converted by other enzymes to glucose to supply the body with energy.

Classification

α-Amylase

β-Amylase

γ-Amylase

calcium metalloenzymes, completely unable to function in the absence of calcium. In human physiology, both the salivary and pancreatic amylases are α-amylases. it is a major digestive enzyme, and its optimum pH is 6.7–7.0.

catalyzes the hydrolysis of the second α-1,4 glycosidic bond, cleaving off two glucose units (maltose) at a time. During the ripening of fruit, β-amylase breaks starch into maltose, resulting in the sweet flavor of ripe fruit. The optimum pH is 4.0–5.0

cleave α(1–6) glycosidic linkages, as well as the last α(1–4)glycosidic linkages at the nonreducing end of amylose and amylopectin, yielding glucose. The γ-amylase has most acidic optimum pH of all amylases pH 3.

α-Amylase

β-Amylase

γ-Amylase

Application

Alpha and beta amylases are important in brewing beer and liquor made from sugars derived from starch. In fermentation, yeast ingest sugars and excrete alcohol.

Amylases are used in breadmaking and to break down complex sugars, such as starch (found in flour), into simple sugars. Yeast then feeds on these simple sugars and converts it into the waste products of alcohol and CO2. This imparts flavour and causes the bread to rise.

Alpha amylase is often listed as an ingredient on commercially package milled flour.

Amylase also has medical applications in the use of Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy (PERT). It is one of the components in Sollpura (Liprotamase) to help in the breakdown of carbohydrates into simple sugars.

Cellulase Cellulase is any of several enzymes produced chiefly by fungi, bacteria,

and protozoans that catalyze cellulolysis, the decomposition of cellulose and of some related polysaccharides.

Also it breaks down the cellulose molecule into monosaccharides ("simple sugars") such as beta-glucose, or shorter polysaccharides and oligosaccharides.

Structure

Most fungal cellulases have a two-domain structure, with one catalytic domain and one cellulose binding domain, that are connected by a flexible linker.

This structure is adapted for working on an insoluble substrate, and it allows the enzyme to diffuse two-dimensionally on a surface in a caterpillar-like fashion.

Application

used for commercial food processing in coffee. It performs hydrolysis of cellulose during drying of beans.

cellulases are widely used in textile industry and in laundry detergents.

also been used in the pulp and paper industry and they are even used for pharmaceutical applications.