Enzymatic Activity of Protease in Fruit Juice on Gelatin and the Reaction of Different PH and Temperatures on the Bromelain within Pineapple Juice.

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Enzymes are very significant for biochemical reactions, they enable reactions to speed up and provide an alternative reaction pathway. In most cases enzymes are selective, catalyzing only specific reactions (Alexander, Mathie and Peters, 2011). This selectivity is because of the shape of enzymes in molecules. For this experiment two main substances were of significance, Gelatin and Pineapple. Gelatin’s origins are from tendons, bones and ligaments in fauna. As it is from living origins it contains collagen which is a primary protein from cartilage, bones and nails. It also contains a range of amino acids which are the building blocks for the proteins these can include Lysine, Tryptophan and valine (Gelita.com, 2017). On the other hand, Pineapple from the bromeliad family is from flora origins, Pineapple is a tropical sweet fruit that is rich in manganese as well as high levels of vitamin C. In addition to this it also has high levels of the protease enzyme bromelain in the stem as well as the fruit (Salma Omar, et al. 1977). Bromelain is a protein digestive enzyme and in its clinical application, bromelain is used for its anti-inflammatory properties, to treat ulcerative colitis, removing dead and damaged skin from tissue after a serious burn and more recently been found to possibly help autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis (Taussig and Batkin, 1988). However, when it comes to gelatin if the protease enzyme is placed with gelatin it will be degraded and will loose the ability to solidify. As bromelain has many uses globally it is important to find the optimum pH and temperature for it to work effectively (Cheung and Li-Chan, 2017). Other fruits that were tested in this experiment was Kiwi, Apple and orange, further research into protease shows that MEROPS database give a clear number of known protease in each fruit. Pineapple has 9, Kiwi has 6, Apple has 983 and orange has 731. This enabled us to test if the number of proteases in each fruit sample had an effect on the level of proteolytic activity (Ebi.ac.uk, 2017). It was then tested bromelains effect under different conditions which extended from pH 0 to 14 and 0 °C to 100 °C whilst it was in a gelatine mix. It also became clear that the pineapple pulp juice had a buffering capacity of around 4pH and could buffer the mixture of solution that it was added in, this was more clearly the test on the impact effect on the buffered

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