Isolation and purification of bromelain from waste peel of pineapple for therapeutic application

Abstract

The aim of this work was to isolate and purify bromelain extracted from the pineapple peel by ammonium sulfate precipitation (40-80%), followed by desalting and freeze-drying with a 75% activity recovery and 2.2 fold increased specific activity. Ion exchange chromatography on DEAE-Sepharose was able to separate the polysaccharides from the enzyme, which was recovered in the elution step, maintaining its enzymatic activity. The batch adsorption of bromelain was evaluated in terms of total protein and enzymatic activity using Langmuir and Langmuir-Freundlich models. Results showed that the process could be suitable for the recovery and purification of the enzyme, maintaining its specific activity.