Partial Purification, Characterization, and Thermal and High-Pressure Inactivation of Pectin Methylesterase from Carrots (DaucuscarrotaL.)

Pectin methylesterase (PME) from carrots ( Daucus carrota L.) was extracted and purified by affinity chromatography on a CNBr-Sepharose 4B-PME inhibitor column. A single protein and PME activity peak was obtained. A biochemical characterization in terms of molar mass (MM), isoelectric points (p I ), and kinetic parameters of carrot PME was performed. In a second step, the thermal and high-pressure stability of the enzyme was studied. Isothermal and combined isothermal−isobaric inactivation of purified carrot PME could be described by a fractional-conversion model. Keywords: Daucus carrota L.; carrots; pectin methylesterase; purification; thermal inactivation; high-pressure inactivation