amylase
(noun)
A type of digestive enzyme capable of breaking down complex carbohydrates into simple sugars.
Examples of amylase in the following topics:
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Enzymes Used in Industry
- In food processing, the enzymes used include amylases from fungi and plants.
- Amylase, glucanases, and proteases are used to split polysaccharides and proteins in the malt.
- In the starch industry, amylases, amyloglucosideases, and glucoamylases convert starch into glucose and various syrups.
- In the paper industry, amylases, xylanases, cellulases, and ligninases are used to degrade starch to lower viscosity, aiding sizing and coating paper.
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Industrial Microorganisms
- Additional enzymes isolated from Pyrococcus speciesinclude specific types of amylases and galactosidases which allow food processing to occur at high temperatrues as well.
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Clostridial and Propionic Acid Fermentation
- In this phase, complex molecules (carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins) are depolymerized into soluble compounds by hydrolytic enzymes (cellulases, hemicellulases, amylases, lipases and proteases).
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Large-Scale Fermentations
- In beer and additional alcohol such as vodka or whiskey, the yeast will convert the sugars produced as a result of the conversion of grain starches to sugar by amylase .