title: Enzyme-Based Strategies for Structuring Foods for Improved Functionality.
abstract: Enzyme technologies can be used to create food dispersions with novel functional attributes using structural design principles. Enzymes that utilize food-grade proteins and/or polysaccharides as substrates have gained recent interest among food scientists. The utilization of enzymes for structuring foods is an ecologically and economically viable alternative to the utilization of chemical cross-linking and depolymerization agents. This review highlights recent progress in the use of enzymes to modify food structures, particularly the interfacial and/or bulk properties of food dispersions with special emphasis on commercially available enzymes. Cross-linking enzymes such as transglutaminase and laccase promote the formation of intra- and intermolecular bonds between biopolymers to improve stability and functionality, whereas various degrading enzymes such as proteases alter the native conformation of proteins, leading to self-assembly of hierarchically ordered colloids. Results of this bio-inspired approach show that rational use of structure-affecting enzymes may enable food manufacturers to produce food dispersions with improved physical, functional, textural, and optical properties.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Physics and Meat Science, Institute of Food Science and Biotechnology, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany; email: j.weiss@uni-hohenheim.de.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zeeb
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003.
authors.forename: David Julian
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: McClements
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Physics and Meat Science, Institute of Food Science and Biotechnology, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany; email: j.weiss@uni-hohenheim.de.
authors.forename: Jochen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Weiss
mesh_terms: D001704:Biopolymers / Q000737:chemistry; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents / Q000737:chemistry; D004798:Enzymes / Q000737:chemistry*; D005502:Food; D005524:Food Technology / Q000379:methods*; D058105:Polymerization; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D001704:Biopolymers; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D004798:Enzymes; D011506:Proteins
keywords: bioconjunction; biopolymers; cross-linking; degrading; enzymes