An Overview of the Lipase and Its Industrial Applications

Apr 7
02:00

2022

Fiona Bingly

Fiona Bingly

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Lipase, also known as glyceride hydrolase, is a glycoprotein composed of 2%-15% sugar bases, the basic unit of which is mannose. Lipase exists in fat-containing animal, plant and microbial (such as mould, bacteria, etc.) tissues.

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Lipase,An Overview of the Lipase and Its Industrial Applications Articles also known as glyceride hydrolase, is a glycoprotein composed of 2%-15% sugar bases, the basic unit of which is mannose. Lipase exists in fat-containing animal, plant and microbial (such as mold, bacteria, etc.) tissues, including phosphatase, sterolase and carboxylesterase, fatty acids are widely used in food, medicine, leather, daily chemicals, etc.

 

The Role of Lipase

Lipase is an enzyme with interface activation properties, that is, it only acts on the oil-water interface. Because of its unique substrate specificity, it has a wide range of uses. When the fat on the interface is completely dissolved, the lipase has almost no activity, and only when the fat content exceeds the solubility can the lipase have obvious activity.

 

The active center of lipase is a serine residue, which is protected by an alpha-screw cap under normal circumstances. Only when lipase exists at the oil/water interface, and when there is grease, the lid opens to expose hydrophobic residues and hide hydrophilic residues. An electrophilic domain is formed around serine residues, which induces lipase to change its conformation and increase its affinity for lipids. Therefore, the prerequisite for lipase to catalyze the substrate significantly is that the substrate must exist in the state of particles, small aggregates, or in the state of emulsified particles.

 

Lipase is relatively specific to the enzyme substrate, and can not only catalyze the hydrolysis of fats, but also promote the synthesis of esters in organic solvents. Lipase is a kind of simple enzyme, its catalytic activity only depends on its protein structure internally, and externally depends on the oil content of the interface.

 

Application of Lipase:

  1. The application of lipase in the food industry

Lipase is used in the food industry to improve the structure of triglycerides, so that its physical properties are changed, and used to develop a series of functional and nutritious oily foods.

 

` Hydrolysis of triacylglycerol

The lipase enzymatic hydrolysis of triacylglycerol can provide high-quality raw materials for the food industry, and short-chain fatty acids can also improve the flavor and aroma of food.

 

a Modification of triacylglycerol (transesterification reaction)

Lipase catalyzes the modification of oils and produces another glyceride from one glyceride.

 

In addition, lipase can also play a role in secondary whitening in food baking. At the same time, it will increase the volume of bread and steamed bread, refine and soften the tissue.

 

  1. The application of lipase in the paper industry

The triglyceride (TG) in the resin is one of the components that produce the resin barrier. The addition of lipase in the slurry can hydrolyze the triglyceride into fatty acids and glycerin, thereby reducing resin deposition and achieving the purpose of controlling the resin barrier. In addition, lipase can also directly decompose ink, paint, etc. to achieve the purpose of deinking, and can also remove the slime in the white water and cooling water of the paper-making barrel.

 

  1. The application of lipase in the pharmaceutical industry

Lipase can act on the gastrointestinal tract together with amylase, play a role in digestion, and be used for lipid analysis in the blood. It can also use the unique stereo mirror image of lipase to selectively synthesize a variety of drugs, such as anticancer drugs, antiviral drugs, etc.

 

  1. Application of lipase in cosmetics and detergents

In the field of household cleaning, lipase can be used to clean contact eyes and remove dirt from clothing. Lipase is usually added to face wash or shampoo. Lipase can catalyze the synthesis of kojic acid ester, which can inhibit skin darkening. With this feature, lipase can be added to whitening products. In addition, lipase is also the main ingredient of cosmetics and perfumes. In the industrial field, lipase can be used for wastewater treatment and sewage pipeline cleaning, and can also be used for waste oil treatment, such as oil spill pollution during oil refining and assembly, and waste from lipid processing plants.

 

Lipase is one of the popular products at Creative Enzymes. The lipase sold by the company is an enzyme with a variety of catalytic abilities, which can catalyze the hydrolysis, alcoholysis, esterification, transesterification and reverse synthesis of esters of triacylglycerides and other water-insoluble esters. In addition, it also exhibits the activities of other enzymes, such as phospholipase, lysophospholipase, cholesterol esterase, and acyl peptide hydrolase activities. The different activities of lipase depend on the characteristics of the reaction system, such as promoting ester hydrolysis at the oil-water interface, and enzymatic synthesis and transesterification in the organic phase.