Effect of high hydrostatic pressure on the enzymic hydrolysis of β-lactoglobulin B by trypsin, thermolysin and pepsin

SummaryHydrolysis of β-lactoglobulin B (β-lg B) by pepsin, a process slow at ambient conditions, is facilitated at a moderately high hydrostatic pressure such as 300 MPa, corresponding to an apparent volume of activation ΔV# = −63 ml mol−1 at pH 2·5, 30 °C and Γ/2=0·16. Digestion of β-lg by trypsin and thermolysin is likewise enhanced by pressure, and the pressure effect has been traced to pressure denaturation of β-lg B, which by high-pressure fluorescence spectroscopy has been shown to have a large negative volume of reaction, ΔV° = −98 ml mol−1, at pH 6·7, 30 °C and Γ/2 = 0·16. Pressure denaturation is only slowly reversed following release of pressure and the enhanced digestibility is maintained at ambient pressure for several hours.