Crude Enzymes from a Hericium Edible Mushroom Isolated in Japan: Variability in Milk-clotting Activity and the Ability to Coagulate Ultra-high-temperature Pasteurized Milk

• Published in: FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH 2018, Vol.24(1), pp.139-143
• Main Authors: Kishimoto, Munekazu, Nakamura, Kazuo, Kanemaru, Keiya, Tasaki, Takuto, Nakamura, Tomoyuki, Sato, Kaoru, Tanimoto, Morimasa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antifungal activity; Cheese; Clotting; Coagulation; Dairy products; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Enzymes; Fungicides; Hericium erinaceus; High temperature; Low temperature; Milk; milk-clotting activity; Mycelia; Nucleotide sequence; Pasteurization; Pasteurized milk; Temperature effects; ultra-high-temperature pasteurized milk coagulation ability; Ultrahigh temperature
• ISSN: 1344-6606; 1881-3984
• DOI: 10.3136/fstr.24.139

Eleven mycelial strains of the genus Hericium were isolated to investigate the variability in milk-clotting activity and ability to coagulate ultra-high-temperature pasteurized milk (UHT-milk) of their crude enzymes. As well, the antifungal activity of cheese prepared using the crude enzymes was assessed. Based on sequence analysis of ITS-5.8S ribosomal DNA, 8 strains were identified as H. erinaceus, 2 as H. abietis, and 1 as Hericium sp. Notable differences were observed among the species and within strains in terms of milk-clotting activity of the crude enzyme preparation. The UHT-milk coagulation ability was detected in 5 strains of H. erinaceus and showed no correlation with the potency of milk-clotting activity. Furthermore, all cheese samples prepared from low-temperature pasteurized milk using the crude enzymes from the 8 strains of H. erinaceus and ripened for 30 days at 13°C showed growth inhibitory activity toward Aspergillus niger NBRC 105649. Thus, the crude enzyme preparation from H. erinaceus may be useful for cheese production.