Pale yellow or white lyophilized powder, soluble in water
Uses: Widely used in alcohol, liquor, beer, brewing, food processing, feed addition, leather processing, etc.
β-amylase (β-amylase), also known as amylase β-1,4-maltosidase, is a kind of amylase, widely found in barley, wheat, sweet potato, soybean and other higher plants and Bacillus spp. in microorganisms.
It is the main saccharifying agent for beer brewing and caramel (maltose syrup) manufacture.
Using β-amylase produced by microorganisms such as Bacillus polymyxa, Bacillus megaterium and other microorganisms to saccharify starch raw materials that have been acidified or liquefied by α-amylase, high maltose with a maltose content of 60% to 70% can be produced
β-amylase is an exo-amylase, which in turn cuts apart α-1,4 bonds from the non-reducing end when it acts on starch, and the hydrolyzed product is all maltose.
Since this amylase changes the configuration of C1 in the hydrolyzed maltose molecule from α-type to β-type during the hydrolysis process, it is called β-amylase.
β-amylase cannot hydrolyze the α-1,6 bond of amylopectin, nor can it continue to hydrolyze across the branch point, so the hydrolysis of amylopectin is incomplete, leaving macromolecular β-limit dextrin.
When β-amylase hydrolyzes amylose, if the starch molecule is composed of an even number of glucose units, the final hydrolyzed product is all maltose; if the starch molecule is composed of an odd number of glucose units, the final hydrolyzed product contains a small amount of glucose in addition to maltose. .
When β-amylase hydrolyzes starch, since there are always macromolecules starting from the end of the molecule, the viscosity decreases very slowly and cannot be used as a liquefying enzyme. When the hydrolysis rate is very fast, it is used as a saccharification enzyme
