Animals, Agriculture & Food
Endopeptidases from L. helveticus Remove Bitterness in Cheese and Treat Gluten Intolerance
WARF: P03299US
Inventors: James Steele, Jeffery Broadbent, Vidya Sridhar
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) is seeking commercial partners interested in developing endopeptidase enzymes from L. helveticus that cleave bitter peptides and peptides involved in gluten inflammation.
Overview
Bitterness and off-flavors often develop in cheese during the aging process. One method of reducing bitterness is to add Lactobacillus helveticus to the cheese; however, this step makes cheese more expensive and introduces other flavors into the cheese.
The Invention
UW-Madison researchers have developed endopeptidase enzymes from L. helveticus that cleave bitter peptides and peptides involved in gluten inflammation. The enzymes, which were identified from a genomic library of L. helveticus, may be added to cheese or other foods during processing. They can be used for reducing bitterness in foods, particularly cheese, or for treating or preventing celiac sprue (gluten intolerance).
Applications
- Removes bitterness in cheese and other foods
- Reducing gluten intolerance
Key Benefits
- May eliminate need to add additional L. helveticus to cheese, thus minimizing undesired flavors
- May increase the nutritional content of food by hydrolyzing proline-containing proteins, which are resistant to peptidases found in animals