Wellness Foods + Supplements 2/2022
Wellness Foods & Supplements is the first European magazine devoted exclusively to health ingredients, nutraceutical foods and beverages. Questions about the trade magazine Wellness Foods & Supplements? Interested in subscribing or advertising? The board of editors at Wellness Foods & Supplements kindly remains at your disposal.
Wellness Foods & Supplements is the first European magazine devoted exclusively to health ingredients, nutraceutical foods and beverages.
Questions about the trade magazine Wellness Foods & Supplements? Interested in subscribing or advertising? The board of editors at Wellness Foods & Supplements kindly remains at your disposal.
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Enzymes<br />
Photo © : AdobeStock/butenkow<br />
Actinidin: A natural protease from kiwifruit<br />
What are enzymes, and more specifically, proteases?<br />
Enzymes speed up biochemical reactions which occur in living<br />
organisms, for example, the digestion of food or synthesis of DNA.<br />
Enzymes have different functions which are determined by their<br />
shape and the type and sequence of amino acids they are made<br />
of, and an enzyme will only catalyse the reactions of the specific<br />
substances it was made for.<br />
The most commonly known enzymes<br />
are our digestive enzymes: lipases, amylases,<br />
and proteases. Proteases catalyse<br />
the breakdown of proteins (a process<br />
known as proteolysis) into smaller protein<br />
fragments (called peptides) or into single<br />
amino acids. They do this by cleaving the<br />
peptide bonds between the amino acids<br />
making up the protein. In the body, the<br />
breakdown of dietary protein is essential as<br />
it allows for the absorption of amino acids<br />
into the bloodstream. These amino acids<br />
can then be distributed through the rest of<br />
the body, usually to be utilised as building<br />
blocks by cells in the body to create new<br />
proteins, such as enzymes, antibodies,<br />
structural proteins (e. g., keratin, collagen<br />
22 No. 2 August/September <strong>2022</strong>
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