What is Pullulanase?
Pullulanase (EC 3.2.1.41) is a specialized debranching enzyme that hydrolyzes 𝛼 -1,6-glucosidic linkages in starch, pullulan, and amylopectin. It is essential in the food industry for producing high-maltose and high-glucose syrups, commonly used to improve texture in foods, enhance starch conversion, and reduce calorie content.
Everything You Need to Know
What does pullulanase do?
Pullulanases are the most important industrial group of enzymes in family 13 glycosyl hydrolases. They hydrolyze either α-1,6 and α-1,4 or both glycosidic bonds in pullulan as well as other carbohydrates to produce glucose, maltose, and maltotriose syrups, which have important uses in food and other related sectors.
Is pullulan a natural ingredient?
Pullulan (dry basis) is a natural, water-soluble, polysaccharide consisting of glucose (glucan) with a simple linear structure wherein maltotriose units (three glucose molecules joined through alpha - 1, 4-glucosidic bonds) are repeatedly polymerized through alpha- 1, 6-glucosidic bonds.
Is pullulan a plastic?
PULLULAN, an "edible" and "non-polluting" plastic, was highly anticipated during the initial developmental phase, however, it took 30 years to develop the high demand for the product that there is today.
What is pullulanase food grade?
Cat No. Pullulanase is produced from excellent strain of Bacillus licheniformis through submerged fermentation and extraction techniques. It can be widely used for industries of starch sugar.
Main Details:
Pullulanase is a maltose-inducible starch-debranching enzyme from Klebsiella pneumoniae. The secretion is dependent on products from at least eight secretion genes that are located on both sides of the pullulanase gene (pulA) in the chromosome of Klebsiella (Kornacker and Pugsley, 1990b). Pullulanase can be expressed and secreted in E. coli provided simultaneous expression of the pullulanase secretion genes (d'Enfert et al., 1987). The protein exists as an exposed, cell surface bound intermediate before being released to the medium at the on-set of the stationary growth phase (Michaelis et al., 1985). The export and secretion information seem to reside in the N-terminal half of pullulanase (Kornacker and Pugsley, 1990a). Hybrid proteins in which the C-terminal region of pullulanase had been replaced by the mature β-lactamase and alkaline phosphatase (PhoA), respectively, thus fused to the first 832 N-terminal aa of pullulanase, were shown to be transiently surface-anchored when expressed together with the pullulanase secretion genes in E. coli (Kornacker and Pugsley, 1990b). Although, both enzymes were displayed at the surface, PhoA was less efficiently exposed, which might be due to incompatible secondary and tertiary structures of the heterologous passenger protein.
Function: It is an extracellular carbohydrate enzyme, sometimes called a "debranching enzyme," that breaks down complex starch molecules into smaller sugars like maltotriose.
Applications: Primarily used in starch processing for industrial saccharification (creating high-glucose/maltose syrups), brewing, and in the production of low-calorie foods
ANALYTICAL RESULTS
| Test Item | Method / Ref. | Specification | Result | Conclusion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Identification | In-house ID / label claim | Pullulanase (EC 3.2.1.41) | Conforms | Pass |
| Appearance | Visual | White to off-white powder | Off-white powder | Pass |
| Enzyme Activity | Pullulanase assay / supplier method | NLT 5,000 U/g | 5,200 U/g | Pass |
| Activity Unit Definition | Supplier-defined unit | Report only | U/g reported | Pass |
| pH (1% solution) | pH meter | 4.5 – 6.5 | 5.1 | Pass |
| Loss on Drying | Gravimetric / USP 731 | ≤ 8.0% | 4.3% | Pass |
| Lead (Pb) | ICP-MS / ICP-OES | ≤ 5.0 mg/kg | 0.18 mg/kg | Pass |
| Arsenic (As) | ICP-MS / ICP-OES | ≤ 3.0 mg/kg | 0.09 mg/kg | Pass |
| Cadmium (Cd) | ICP-MS / ICP-OES | ≤ 0.5 mg/kg | < 0.05 mg/kg | Pass |
| Mercury (Hg) | ICP-MS / ICP-OES | ≤ 0.5 mg/kg | < 0.01 mg/kg | Pass |
| Total Plate Count | Plate count | ≤ 50,000 CFU/g | 1.9 × 10³ CFU/g | Pass |
| Coliforms | Plate count | ≤ 30 CFU/g | < 10 CFU/g | Pass |
| E. coli | Absence Test | Negative / 25g | Not Detected | Pass |
| Salmonella | Absence Test | Negative / 25g | Not Detected | Pass |
Production Process
