Food Chemistry 277 (2019)531-532 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect ◆ Food Chemistry CHEMISTRY ELSEVIER journal homepage:www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchem ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT stra gi that e ation of er use pos mprove If life of foods wi 1.Introduction aking juices. The same logic app foods with high nutit onal va pents such asvitamins in fruits and vegetable ganisms.For this ” the lite of food ed by m ef fects( 01).p 6 thin few tion Valent and Guli ng ag 121 d the app 过A 14)also reported th appl activity of the ertain types of mic pabe】 ed a reduction in s na the microbial es.In h to contain th native toe。f micr e sp the ed byB.n of the by as proteolytic and tin of B cell wall and teins of the fung rstcturesandconsequlg (va t al 014200 Silva,2017)w nes br To answer thisu n,it is poss aus preservation practices do ne wing an i ttps://doi. .arg/10.1016 foodchem20181.02 030-11Eevier Ld.reserved
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Food Chemistry journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchem Enzyme technology in food preservation: A promising and sustainable strategy for biocontrol of post-harvest fungal pathogens ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Chitinase Food spoilage Microbial enzyme Mold Proteolytic enzymes ABSTRACT Population aging has reinforced the need for production of foods with high nutritional value, especially fresh fruits and vegetables. In general, due to their perishable nature, these foods are prone to spoilage by post-harvest microorganisms. For this reason, I aim to discuss in this article the alternative use of enzymes as biocontrol agents against fungal infections in post-harvest fruits and vegetables. This article therefore proposes a sustainable alternative with demonstrated success to improve the preservation of food in its fresh form and facilitating its storage, mainly in domestic space. Food spoilage caused by microorganisms has adverse economic effects. Pathogens such as Monilinia spp., Botrytis cinerea, and Penicillium expansum are important fungi that cause postharvest spoilage of fruits.Thus, the application of enzymes in food chemistry offers a promising approach to improve the shelf life of foods without altering the organoleptical characteristics and nutritional content. 1. Introduction The increase in the global population coupled with the increase in life expectancy and the aging of the population has reinforced the need for production of foods with high nutritional value, especially fresh fruits and vegetables. However, due to their perishable nature, these foods are prone to spoilage by post-harvest microorganisms. For this reason, I aim to discuss in this article the alternative use of enzymes as biocontrol agents against fungal infections in post-harvest fruits and vegetables. Food spoilage caused by microorganisms has adverse economic effects (James & Zikankuba, 2017; Mahajan, Cale, Singh, Watkins, & Geyer, 2014). Pathogens such as Monilinia spp., Botrytis cinerea, and Penicillium expansum are important fungi that cause post-harvest spoilage of fruits such as peaches, apples, pears, plums, and nectarines (Zhang, Spadaro, Garibaldi, & Gullino, 2010). Thus, sustainable and environmentally friendly technologies that improve food preservation without altering taste, appearance, smell, nutritional content, are invaluable in the field of food chemistry. 2. Biocontrol of post-harvest fungal pathogens: peptidases and chitinases The microbial competition has been studied for the application of certain types of microorganisms capable of controlling the growth of bacteria and fungi in food. For example, this biocontrol practice has been used in crops to combat pathogens. Another one suitable alternative to the use of microorganisms for biocontrol is to improve the preservation of post-harvest foods. For example, the targeted application of enzymes, such as proteolytic and chitinolytic enzymes. These enzymes act against the contaminating microorganism, disrupting their cellular structures and consequently inhibiting their growth. Why the use of enzymes offer an interesting tool to improve the preservation of fresh foods? To answer this question, it is possible to argue that the conventional food preservation practices do not always meet all the needs of a particular culinary variety. For example, dehydration improves fruit preservation, however it does not apply to consumption of fresh fruits or making juices. The same logic applies in salting and heat processing. The latter can also promote the loss of essential components such as vitamins in fruits and vegetables. Refrigeration is also used as a simple method for food preservation against microbial biodegradation. However, in addition to refrigeration, the use of enzymes may further prolong the expiry dates. The application of enzymes in food chemistry offers a promising approach to improve the shelf life of foods. For example, delaying of mold infestation in strawberries, apples, and vegetables. It is well known that strawberry has a short shelf life even when stored at 4 °C. Mold cause spoilage of the healthy fruit within few days of refrigeration. In most cases, the enzymes employed to prevent spoilage are mainly derived from microbial sources (Fig. 1). Some studies have shown the successful use of enzymes as food preserving agents; Zhang, Spadaro, Valente, Garibaldi, and Gullino (2012) reported the application of a recombinant alkaline peptidase from yeast Aureobasidium pullulans capable of in vitro inhibition of Botrytis cinerea growth. Banani et al. (2014) also reported the effectiveness of an alkaline serine peptidase against spoilage caused by B. cinerea and Monilinia fructicola in vitro and on Golden Delicious apples. The authors reported that the proteolytic activity of these enzymes promoted a reduction in spoilage by suppressing the microbial growth in synthetic culture media as well as in fresh apples. They demonstrated that a peptidase concentration of 62.5 ng/μL was enough to contain the progressive spoilage caused by B. cinerea on Golden Delicious apples. Additionally, microscopic observation revealed a swelling of the hyphae of B. cinerea. Peptidases act on the cell wall and membrane proteins of the fungi (Silva et al., 2014, 2017; Silva, 2017) while chitinolytic enzymes break down chitin in the cell wall structure. In both cases, enzymatic activity causes damage to the cell wall, prevent spore germination, and consequently reduce the deterioration of the food, allowing an increase in its https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.11.022 Received 19 September 2018; Accepted 3 November 2018 Food Chemistry 277 (2019) 531–532 Available online 03 November 2018 0308-8146/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. T
Food (219)531-532 Peptidases Fig.1.Enryme technology in food pre. Eazyme technology Explorsg tcrobial Chitinases preservation time References .H.S ctive ac is ally when refe .201 2-183.1-8 ntial component of fungal cell wall wthout n,P.V.,c 3.030 L.R.( ables.The se of an enym eliceoled ueof R.C. )The 3.Future prospects H.(2 10.1016 dehyd ating.This t Biology and 574-181 rticle ssu5t 1gD,5 ,M.L(20121.d0aig fodin itsresh form and facilitatin ittrmainly in domesti pr ias,Letras e Cien em society. Conflict of interest E-mailaddres.com The author declares no cometing financial inerest
preservation time. Considering the application of enzymes in food preservation, some fundamental biochemical characteristics are needed including activity at mild temperatures, stability in storage conditions, and selective action against organisms capable of food spoilage. In the latter case, chitinolytic enzymes are promising candidates, especially when referring to prevention of fungal contamination of foods. These enzymes act on chitin which is an essential component of fungal cell wall without causing any damage to the food. Thus, the enzymes offer valuable contribution to the food industry and domestic storage of fruits and vegetables. The use of an enzyme, rather than conventional antifungal agent is invaluable from the perspective of a sustainable application, since uncontrolled use of fungicides is not advisable. 3. Future prospects It is a widely accepted that technological innovation provides opportunities to improve food handling practices. Conventional techniques to prevent food spoilage are not always compatible with cooking diversity which often requires products that are not salted, dehydrated or processed by heating. This article therefore proposes a sustainable alternative with demonstrated success to improve the preservation of food in its fresh form and facilitating its storage, mainly in domestic space. Further studies are needed to refine the use of enzymes as biocontrol agents. Since this is a very important proposal from the point of view of sustainable technology, considerable attention should be paid to finding new ways to meet the growing food demands of the modern society. Conflict of interest The author declares no competing financial interest. References Banani, H., Spadaro, D., Zhang, D., Matic, S., Garibaldi, A., & Gullino, M. L. (2014). Biocontrol activity of an alkaline serine protease from Aureobasidium pullulans expressed in Pichia pastoris against four postharvest pathogens on apple. International Journal of Food Microbiology, 182–183, 1–8. James, A., & Zikankuba, V. (2017). Postharvest management of fruits and vegetable: A potential for reducing poverty, hidden hunger and malnutrition in sub-Sahara Africa. Food Science and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311932.2017.1312052. Mahajan, P. V., Cale, O. J., Singh, Z., Watkins, C. B., & Geyer, M. (2014). Postharvest treatments of fresh produce. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, 372, 20130309. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2013.0309. Silva, R. R. (2017). Bacterial and fungal proteolytic enzymes, production, catalysis and potential applications. Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 183, 1–19. https://doi. org/10.1007/s12010-017-2427-2. Silva, R. R., Caetano, R. C., Okamoto, D. N., de Oliveira, L. C. G., Bertolin, T. C., Juliano, M. A., . Cabral, H. (2014). The identification and biochemical properties of the catalytic specificity of a serine peptidase secreted by Aspergillus fumigatus Fresenius. Protein and Peptide Letters, 21, 663–671. Silva, R. R., de Oliveira, L. C., Juliano, M. A., Juliano, L., de Oliveira, A. H., Rosa, J. C., & Cabral, H. (2017). Biochemical and milk-clotting properties and mapping of catalytic subsites of an extracellular aspartic peptidase from basidiomycete fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium. Food Chemistry, 225, 45–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. foodchem.2017.01.009. Zhang, D., Spadaro, D., Garibaldi, A., & Gullino, M. L. (2010). Selection and evaluation of new antagonists for their efficacy against postharvest brown rot of peaches. Postharvest Biology and Technology, 55, 174–181. Zhang, D., Spadaro, D., Valente, S., Garibaldi, A., & Gullino, M. L. (2012). Cloning, characterization, expression and antifungal activity of an alkaline serine protease of Aureobasidium pullulans PL5 involved in the biological control of postharvest pathogens. International Journal of Food Microbiology, 153, 453–464. Ronivaldo Rodrigues da Silva Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas, Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (UNESP), São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil E-mail address: rds.roni@yahoo.com.br. Fig. 1. Enzyme technology in food preservation: a sustainable strategy for biocontrol of post-harvest fungal pathogens. Food Chemistry 277 (2019) 531–532 532