Journal of Food Processing & Technology

Abstract

Scope and Opportunities of Papain as Food Tenderizing Agent for Food Processing in Ethiopia

Birhanu Zeleke*

The main aim of food preservation is to minimize the growth of microorganisms during the storage period, thus promoting longer shelf life and reduced hazard from eating the food. Fruit and vegetables are an important supplement to the human diet as they provide the essential minerals and vitamins and fiber required for maintaining health. Papain is a proteolytic enzyme present in papaya that breaks down proteins and has a number of food processing applications. The objective of this review is to carefully study the extraction methods for papain enzyme and to employ grinding and ultra-sonication extraction techniques and determining application of papain as preservatives in future studies. Papaya fruit contains cysteine proteinases, presenting Papaya fruit as an important tool medicinal/pharmacological utilization. Papaya fruit, seed, leaves and fruit contain carpaine, an alkaloid with bitter taste which has a strong depressant action on the heart. Food preservation is basically done for preserving the natural characteristics of food, to preserve the way food look and to increase the shelf value of food for storage. Since papaya is a popular fruit well-known for its food and nutritional values worldwide fortification through a best preservative enzyme is nedeed. enzymes have become important tools for various markets such as food and animal feed, biofuels, detergents, textiles, pulp and paper, mainly for preservation.

Published Date: 2024-12-28; Received Date: 2023-07-22