Abstract
Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) purified using DEAE-cellulose and Biogel P-100 column chromatography from banana pulp showed 12.72-fold activity and 2.49% yield. The optimum temperature and pH were found to be 30°C and 7.0, respectively for its activity. Catechol was found to be a suitable substrate for banana pulp PPO that showed Vmax, 0.041 mM min−1 and Km, 1.6 mM. The enzyme activity was inhibited by sodium metabisulfite, citric acid, cysteine, and β-mercaptoethanol at 10 mM concentration. The purified enzyme could decolorize (90%) Direct Red 5B (160 μg mL−1) dye within 48 h and Direct Blue GLL (400 μg mL−1) dye up to 85% within 90 h. The GC-MS analysis indicated the presence of 4-hydroxy-benzenesulfonic acid and Naphthalene-1,2,3,6-tetraol in the degradation products of Direct Red 5B, and 5-(4-Diazenyl-naphthalene-1-ylazo)-8-hydroxy-naphthalene-2-sulfonic acid and 2-(4-Diazenyl-naphthalene-1-ylazo)-benzenesulfonic acid in the degradation products of Direct Blue GLL.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We are thankful to Dr. Rajaram P. Patil for his fruitful suggestions and Mr. Nilesh V. Pawar for his technical assistance.