Unlocking Flavor Potential Using Microbial β-Glucosidases in Food Processing

Abstract

Aroma is among of the most important criteria that indicate the quality of food and beverage products. Aroma compounds can be found as free molecules or glycosides. Notably, a significant portion of aroma precursors accumulates in numerous food products as nonvolatile and flavorless glycoconjugates, termed glycosidic aroma precursors. When subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis, these seemingly inert, nonvolatile glycosides undergo transformation into fragrant volatiles or volatiles that can generate odor-active compounds during food processing. In this context, microbial β-glucosidases play a pivotal role in enhancing or compromising the development of flavors during food and beverage processing. β-glucosidases derived from bacteria and yeast can be utilized to modulate the concentration of particular aroma and taste compounds, such as bitterness, which can be decreased through hydrolysis by glycosidases. Furthermore, oral microbiota can influence flavor perception by releasing volatile compounds that can enhance or alter the perception of food products. In this review, considering the glycosidic flavor precursors present in diverse food and beverage products, we underscore the significance of glycosidases with various origins. Subsequently, we delve into emerging insights regarding the release of aroma within the human oral cavity due to the activity of oral microbial glycosidases.

Microbial β C-S Lyases: Enzymes with Multifaceted Roles in Flavor Generation

“…It is located in the vicinity of the variable region loop located 20 residues starting from the N-terminal extremity. In the case of FnaPatB1 and ShPatB, this loop is elongated and was suggested to promote favorable hydrophobic contact to stabilize cysteine conjugates with hydrophobic substituents [ 23 , 25 ].…”

“…Microbial enzymes responsible for the generation of these new flavor compounds mainly include glycosidases and carbon–sulfur lyases. Glycosidases have been recently reviewed by Muradova and coworkers, showing the importance of this enzyme family in the generation of aromatic aglycone from non-aromatic glycoconjugates present in a variety of food products including plant-based milks, fruit juices, wines, and teas [ 25 ]. Additionally, glycosidase activities were measured in the human saliva and shown to impact the perception of the metabolized aromatic aglycone [ 18 ].…”