What is the function of cellulase?

When it comes to cellulase, many people think it is a single enzyme, but it is not. It is a general term for a group of enzymes. Cellulase has a wide range of uses. First of all, cellulase has many uses in the agricultural industry, especially in the process of poultry production. Cellulase is almost indispensable and is an important source of energy for many livestock. The following is a detailed introduction to the uses of cellulase.

What are the functions and uses of cellulase?

1. Beverage and juice pressing

Applying cellulase to fruit and vegetable juice and pollen beverages can improve the decomposition of cellulose and hemicellulose while promoting the dissolution of plant cell walls, dissolving more dissolved substances in plant cells and degrading indigestible large-molecule polysaccharides, proteins and lipids into small-molecule substances, promoting juice clarification, making the juice transparent without precipitation, and increasing the juice extraction rate (about 10%), which is beneficial to gastrointestinal digestion and absorption. It has been reported that citrus peel residue was successfully enzymatically hydrolyzed to produce a whole fruit beverage, in which 50% of the crude fiber was degraded into short-chain oligosaccharides, i.e., the dietary fiber in the whole fruit beverage, which has certain health and medical value.

2. Animal breeding and feed processing

The cellulase preparation itself is a multi-enzyme complex composed of protease, amylase, pectinase and cellulase. In this multi-enzyme complex system, the product of one enzyme can become the substrate of another enzyme, thereby allowing digestion in the digestive tract to proceed smoothly. That is to say, in addition to directly degrading cellulose and promoting its decomposition into low-molecular compounds that are easily digested and absorbed by animals, cellulase also works with other enzymes to improve the decomposition and digestion of feed nutrients by animals. In addition, cellulase also has the function of maintaining the integrity of the villi of the small intestine and promoting the absorption of nutrients.

Eliminate anti-nutritional factors and promote healthy growth of organisms. When hemicellulose and pectin are partially dissolved in water, they will produce a viscous solution, which increases the viscosity of the digestate and creates obstacles for endogenous enzymes. Adding cellulase can reduce the viscosity, increase the diffusion of endogenous enzymes, increase the contact area between enzymes and nutrients, and promote good digestion of feed. Cellulase preparations can activate the secretion of endogenous enzymes, supplement the deficiency of endogenous enzymes, and adjust endogenous enzymes to ensure the normal digestion and absorption function of animals, and play a role in disease prevention and growth promotion.

3. Recycling of fiber waste

The main components of plant fiber raw materials are cellulose and hemicellulose, which are the most abundant, cheapest and renewable resources on earth. The utilization approach and overall idea is to use cellulase and hemicellulase to first degrade cellulose and hemicellulose into fermentable sugars, and then produce alcohol, single-cell protein, organic acids, glycerol, acetone and other important chemical raw materials through fermentation. In addition, cellulose and hemicellulose can be prepared into functional food additives such as microcrystalline cellulose, dietary fiber and functional oligosaccharides through limited degradation by cellulase, which is of great significance for opening up sources of raw materials for the food industry, providing new energy and turning waste into treasure.

4. Winemaking

Adding cellulase can increase the yield of alcohol and liquor and the utilization rate of raw materials during alcohol fermentation, reduce the viscosity of the solution, shorten the fermentation time, and make the wine taste mellow and have a low fusel oil content. There are two possible reasons why cellulase can increase the wine yield: first, cellulase decomposes plant cell walls, which is beneficial to the release and utilization of starch; second, part of the cellulose in the raw material is decomposed into glucose to provide nutrition for yeast;

5. Soy Sauce Brewing

Traditional soy sauce brewing takes at least half a year. Otherwise, the color and taste of the brewed soy sauce will be relatively light, making it difficult to achieve a seasoning effect with good color, aroma and taste, and the cost is relatively high. Adding cellulase during the brewing process of soy sauce can cause the cell membrane of soybean raw materials to swell, soften and destroy, thereby releasing the protein and carbohydrates hidden in the cells. This can not only increase the concentration of soy sauce and improve the quality of soy sauce, but also shorten the production cycle, increase productivity, and improve its main indicators by 3%.