Conclusion:
To sum up, pectinase is an enzyme used to hydrolyse the pectin that is found in the skin of fruit or plant cellulose cell wall. Pectinase plays a key role in fruit juice production due to its ability to improve yield, clarity and stability of the juice (Franklin, 2016). Pectin is a hetero-polysaccharide that has a water holding capacity in fruit. Pectinase acts on the pectin and breaks the glycosidic bonds between the monomers of pectin, which is the galacturonic acid, thereby decreases the water holding capacity of pectin (Jadaun, 2018). The functions of pectinase include breaking down the pectin to enable the liquid and sugars to be released more easily, remove cloudy matters in the fruit juice, added to crushed fruit to produce fine fruit juice, stabilise the colour of fruit juice to prevent the fruit juice from changing colour during the storage period, releasing of phenolic content that can maintain the health of consumers. Pectinase is used in different fruit juice such as orange, pineapple, apple, grape juice and etc. The main purpose of adding pectinase in orange and pineapple juice is to increase the yield of the juice. Pectinase is added twice in apple juice. In grape juice, pectinase is added to remove haze, turbidity and viscosity. Besides of the fruit juice industry, pectinase can also be used in tea and coffee fermentation for softening of the plant tissue.
Pectinase is important in the production of fruit juice since it increases the nutritional value of the juice. The potential benefits of phenolic compounds for human health have been recognized in recent years (Kumar, n.d.). The application of pectinase may be the key to increase phenolic compounds content in juices. Pectinase is also important in quality control (McClements, n.d). By adding pectinase, juices produced are clearer and sweeter and are more desirable for the consumers.
The use of pectinase at different fruit processing stages has greatly increased the quality of the juices. Pectinases are being used for juice clarification, to reduce turbidity, viscosity and astringency in taste, to improve colour and to increase the yield of juice (Jadaun, 2018). The juices produced after adding pectinase are more favourable by the consumers and benefits in their health