Botanical Proteases – an option for “Gluten-Free” claims.

With the new FDA regulations on “gluten-free” claims, there is a new interest in enzymes that have not been derived from fermentation.

To meet the need for this growing demand for non-Fermentation enzymes, EDC offers a number of botanical enzymes, including Papain, Bromelain, Ficin, and the protease from Thistle. These proteases are plant-based, non-GMO enzymes that have no wheat or gluten-containing compounds associated with them.

It is not unusual to have wheat bran or wheat flour as part of the fermentation media for the production of enzymes. The media protein sources are consumed during the fermentation and do not carry through to the purified product. The new regulation requires that the producer of any product that carries the gluten-free claim to be able to prove that possible peptides from wheat be present at a level no higher than 20 ppm in the final product. This is leading companies to look at alternative proteases where possible.

The botanical proteases offer interesting alternatives. EDC offers several options for consideration:
Panol® (powder) or Liquipanol® papain (derived from Papaya). Papain has the widest pH range as is the most heat stable.
Enzeco® Bromelain derived from Pineapple.
Enzeco® Ficin derived from fig and an interesting lower temperature option to papain and bromelain.
Thistlezyme® an aspartic acid protease derived from Thistle. A very interesting milk clotting enzyme and well recognized for hydrolyzing milk proteins.