NEW VEGETAL SOURCES FOR MILK-CLOTTING ENZYMES

Seven Papilionoideae species (Eriosema shirense, E. ellipticum, E. pau ciflorum, E. gossweilleri, E. psoraleoides, Adenolichos anchietae and Droogmansia megalantha), the roots of which are traditionally used in the South of Angola for handmade soft dairy products, were studied in order to identify new milk clotting enzymes for industrial use. Ln gen eral, root and leaf extracts showed higher proteolytic activity than s tem, fruit or inflorescence extracts. The root and leaf extracts were screened for clotting activity and curd strength. The highest proteoly tic specific activity was observed in leaf extracts of D. megalantha a nd the lowest clotting time was obtained for leaf extracts of A. anchi etae and E. psoraleoides. When stored at -20 degrees C for 2 months th e extracts lose 16-40% of proteolytic activity and its clotting time i ncreased 10-40%. Only the extracts from E. psoraleoides dried leaves r etain clotting activity (90%) after 4 years storage at -20 degrees C. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.