Development of Pectinase Preparation for the Making of Orange Juice : (1) Some properties of Commercial Pectinase Preparations in Japan

The properties of several pectinase preparation commercially available were studied and the following results were obtained : 1) The optimum pH was found to be at pH=4.0 in all preparations, but the stabilities at acidic pH were not the same. 2) The maximum velocity on the reaction of these pectinase preparations were observed around 42℃. 3) The enzyme of Asp. Niger was more effective than those of Con. Diplodiella for the citrus juice. 4) The above fact may be related to the amounts and ratio of PE and PG in these preparations. 5) The results seemed likely that PE is highly effective at the presence of PG for the clarifying citrus juice. The promotion of clarifying activity to orange juice by the joint action of pectinase and hemicellulase had been suggested by FUKUMOTO, but the action was not observed so clearly.