Pectinases are a group of

enzymes An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as pro ...

that breaks down pectin, a

polysaccharide Polysaccharides (), or polycarbohydrates, are the most abundant carbohydrates found in food. They are long-chain polymeric carbohydrates composed of monosaccharide units bound together by glycosidic linkages. This carbohydrate can react with wat ...

found in

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

cell walls, through hydrolysis, transelimination and deesterification reactions. Commonly referred to as pectic enzymes, they include pectolyase, pectozyme, and

polygalacturonase Endo-polygalacturonase (, pectin depolymerase, pectolase, pectin hydrolase, and poly-α-1,4-galacturonide glycanohydrolase; systematic name (1→4)-α-D-galacturonan glycanohydrolase (endo-cleaving)) is an enzyme that hydrolyzes the α-1,4 glycos ...

, one of the most studied and widely used commercial pectinases. It is useful because pectin is the jelly-like matrix which helps cement plant cells together and in which other cell wall components, such as cellulose fibrils, are embedded. Therefore, pectinase enzymes are commonly used in processes involving the degradation of plant materials, such as speeding up the extraction of

fruit juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat or seafood, such ...

from

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

, including

apples An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

and sapota. Pectinases have also been used in wine production since the 1960s. The function of pectinase in brewing is twofold, first it helps break down the plant (typically fruit) material and so helps the extraction of flavors from the mash. Secondly the presence of pectin in finished wine causes a haze or slight cloudiness. Pectinase is used to break this down and so clear the wine. Pectinases can be extracted from

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

such as '' Aspergillus niger''. The fungus produces these enzymes to break down the middle lamella in plants so that it can extract nutrients from the plant tissues and insert fungal

hyphae A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one o ...

. If pectinase is boiled it is denatured (unfolded) making it harder to connect with the pectin at the active site, and produce as much juice.

Pectinase in nature

Pectinase enzymes used today are naturally produced by fungi and yeasts (50%), insects, bacteria and microbes (35%) and various plants (15%), but cannot be synthesized by animal or human cells. In plants, pectinase enzymes hydrolyze pectin that is found in the cell wall, allowing for new growth and changes to be made. Similarly to their role in plants, pectinases break down pectin during the developmental stage of fungi.

Characterizations

Pectinase enzymes are classified based on how their enzymatic reaction proceeds with various pectic substances (through transelimination or hydrolysis), the preferred substrate (pectin, pectic acid or oligo-n-galacturonate) and if the cleavage that occurs is random or end-wise.

Reaction pathway

Pectinases depolymerise pectin through

hydrolysis Hydrolysis (; ) is any chemical reaction in which a molecule of water breaks one or more chemical bonds. The term is used broadly for substitution reaction, substitution, elimination reaction, elimination, and solvation reactions in which water ...

, trans-elimination and deesterification reaction processes, breaking down the ester bond that holds together the carboxyl and methyl groups in pectin. Endo-polygalacturonase progresses through a reaction along the following pathway: (1,4-alpha-D-galacturonosyl)_n+m + H₂O = (1,4-alpha-D-galacturonosyl)_n + (1,4-alpha-D-galacturonosyl)_m

Crystal structures

All pectinase enzyme structures include a prism-shaped right-handed cylinder made up of seven to nine parallel β-helices. The three parallel β-helices that create the prism shape of the structure are referred to as PB1, PB2 and PB3, with PB1 and PB2 creating an antiparallel β and PB3 sitting perpendicularly to PB2. All substrate binding sites of the various esterases, hydrolases, and lyases are located on an outer cleft of the central parallel β-helix structure between protruding loops on the structure and PB1.

Optimum environment

As with all

, pectinases have an optimum temperature and pH at which they are most active. For example, a commercial pectinase might typically be activated at 45 to 55 °C and work well at a pH of 3.0 to 6.5.

Industrial uses

Pectinase enzymes play various roles in both the fruit juice and wine industries. They are used for clarification in fruit juices and also speed up fruit juice extraction through enzymatic liquefaction of fruit pulp. In addition, pectinase enzymes aid in formation of pulpy products in the fruit juice industry. Pectinase enzymes are used for extracting juice from purée. This is done when the enzyme pectinase breaks down the substrate pectin and the juice is extracted. The enzyme pectinase lowers the

activation energy In the Arrhenius model of reaction rates, activation energy is the minimum amount of energy that must be available to reactants for a chemical reaction to occur. The activation energy (''E''a) of a reaction is measured in kilojoules per mole (k ...

needed for the juice to be produced and catalyzes the reaction. Pectinases are useful in the wine industry by extracting

anthocyanin Anthocyanins (), also called anthocyans, are solubility, water-soluble vacuole, vacuolar pigments that, depending on their pH, may appear red, purple, blue, or black. In 1835, the German pharmacist Ludwig Clamor Marquart named a chemical compou ...

from the fruit, effectively intensifying the wine coloring. Pectinase can also be used to extract juices from cell walls of plants cells. Pectinases are also used for

retting Retting is a process employing the action of micro-organisms and moisture on plants to dissolve or rot away much of the cellular tissues and pectins surrounding bast-fibre bundles, facilitating the separation of the fibre from the stem.retting ...

in the textile industry. Addition of chelating agents or pretreatment of the plant material with acid enhance the effect of the enzyme.

References

{{reflist EC 3.2.1