Application of Enzymes in Food Analysis

Abstract

Enzymes are protein catalysts that are capable of very great specificity and reactivity under physiological conditions. Enzymatic analysis is the measurement of compoundswith the aid of added enzymes or themeasurement of endogenous enzyme activity to give an indication of the state of a biological system including foods. The fact that enzyme catalysis can take place under relatively mild conditions allows for measurement of relatively unstable compounds not amenable to some other techniques. In addition, the specificity of enzyme reactions can allow for measurement of components of complex mixtures without the time and expense of complicated chromatographic separation techniques.