Laccases in Food Industry: Bioprocessing, Potential Industrial and Biotechnological Applications

Abstract

Laccase is a multi-copper oxidase that catalyzes the oxidation of one electron of a wide range of phenolic compounds. The enzyme is considered eco-friendly because it requires molecular oxygen as co-substrate for the catalysis and it yields water as the sole by-product. Laccase is commonly produced by fungi but also by some bacteria, insects and plants. Due it is capable of using a wide variety of phenolic and nonphenolic substrates, laccase has potential applications in the food, pharmaceutical and environmental industries; in addition, it has been used since many years in the bleaching of paper pulp. Fungal laccases are mainly extracellular enzyme that can be recovered from the residual compost of industrial production of edible mushrooms as Agaricus bisporus and Pleurotus ostreatus. It has also been isolated from microorganisms present in wastewater. The great potential of laccase lies in its ability to oxidize lignin, one component of lignocellulosic materials, this feature can be widely exploited on the pretreatment for agro-food wastes valorization. Laccase is one of the enzymes that fits very well in the circular economy concept, this concept has more benefits over linear economy; based on "reduce-reuse-recycle" theory. Currently, biorefinery processes are booming due to the need to generate clean biofuels that do not come from oil. In that sense, laccase is capable of degrading lignocellulosic materials that serve as raw material in these processes, so the enzyme's potential is evident. This review will critically describe the production sources of laccase as by-product from food industry, bioprocessing of food industry by-products using laccase, and its application in food industry.

Enzyme Activities of Five White-Rot Fungi in the Presence of Nanocellulose

“…White-rot fungi, with the ability to degrade lignocellulosic material, are valued in the paper, textile, and food industries for their ability to produce various lignocellulosicdegrading enzymes [1][2][3]. These fungi differ from brown-rot in that they can degrade all lignocellulose constituents (lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose) producing CO 2 as a byproduct of this metabolism [4,5].…”

Laccase as a Tool in Building Advanced Lignin‐Based Materials

“…Laccase has a great potential for integrating biotechnological processes in various industries, such as lignocellulosic biorefinery (including in the traditional pulp and paper industry), chemical, biomedical, and pharmaceutical industries. [ 92a , 92c ] Despite this, information on the current use of laccase for valorizing lignins on industrial scale is not easily found, likely due to the confidentiality that protects such processing conditions. On the other hand, some practical and technical aspects available in the literature published on laboratory‐scale experiments help to identify the challenges and opportunities regarding the current industrial use of laccases.…”

“…Despite this, the availability of stocks and the cost of laccases still raise certain concerns when their industrial use is discussed, especially when high‐purity enzyme is required. [ 92a , 112 ] In this sense, the invention of economic, safe, and efficient methods for producing microbial laccases is highly opportune. [113] Novel technologies can also benefit the development of biotechnical methods for enzyme production to increase laccase purity and stability.…”

OTIMIZAÇÃO DA PRODUÇÃO DE LACASES POR Trametes versicolor EM FERMENTAÇÃO DE ESTADO SÓLIDO COM RESIDUOS AGROINDUSTRIAIS

“…Na indústria de alimentos, em especial, a utilização de lacases é realizada em produtos de panificação, laticínios, bebidas e ingredientes (síntese de novos compostos antioxidantes e antimicrobianos). Estas enzimas atuam na melhoria dos parâmetros sensoriais de alimentos, controle de odores, realce de sabor e novas funcionalidades, bem como para a remoção de compostos indesejáveis em certos produtos alimentícios, entre outras possibilidades (MAYOLO-DELOISA et al, 2020).…”