ENZYMES FROM GERMINATING-SEEDS - POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS IN FOOD-PROCESSING

Most industrial enzymes used for the recovery or processing of food or food constituents are derived from microbial sources. It is somewhat surprising that - with few exceptions - the biosynthetic capacity of plants has not been exploited to obtain enzymes for applications in food processing and preservation. Chitinase - effective as an antifungal agent - has been isolated from germinating soybean seeds and purified by affinity chromatography on chitin; treatment of the germinating seeds with chitosan enhances chitinase activity during germination. Germinating seeds from winter wheat have been used as a source of proteolytic enzymes applicable in food processing at low temperatures (1-15-degrees-C).