Ficin

Ficin Introduction Ficin is a plant enzyme that belongs to the class of hydrolases. It was discovered at the end of the 19th century and since then has been actively used in various branches of industry and science. In this article we will look at the history of the discovery of ficin, its properties and applications. We will also look at possible problems associated with the use of ficin, as well as methods of protecting against them.

History Ficin was first discovered in 1891 by French biologist Camille Ferel. Ferel conducted experiments to find new sources of nutrition for cells. He noticed that plant cells damaged by bacteria quickly recovered. To do this, he used extracts from the affected areas of plant stems. They contained a substance that could destroy bacteria. Later, while conducting experiments to remove proteins from cell wall solutions, Ferel found that plant cells began to stick together. In this case, the rate of adhesion increases with increasing concentration of ficin. After analysis, it turned out that ficin is nothing more than an enzyme. A few years later, biochemists described its structure and named it ficin. It turned out that this enzyme is capable of breaking down compounds including carbohydrates. Research has led to the addition of ficin to the solution on which plants grow. This accelerates the growth of stems and roots. This enzyme is of practical importance and is used in the food, pharmaceutical and textile industries. Properties Ficin is a protein compound in its structure. This is a heterogeneous substance with a certain molecular weight. The molecule contains amino acids, most of which are alkaline. Like other enzymes, ficin is involved in accelerating biochemical reactions. Thanks to this property, ficin is used to accelerate the processes of fermentation and decay in nature. In addition, it is effective in fermenting milk. If there is no fresh yeast, then ficin can be used as a substitute for fermented yeast. Biopolymers in plant cells, such as hyphae, moss, and cellulose, are cross-linked together. Sometimes ficin can be used to separate these biopolymers from each other.