For billions of years, the ocean has been considered the origin of life on Earth. The ocean includes the largest range of habitats, with the largest number of life forms, which provides a variety of marine-derived products including marine enzymes for industrial and pharmaceutical applications. The marine enzyme may be a unique protein molecule, not found in any terrestrial organism, or it may be a known enzyme of terrestrial origin, but with many novel properties. Compared to enzymes from terrestrial sources, marine enzymes have many remarkable properties such as hyperthermostability, high salt tolerance, cold adaptability, barophilicity, regioselectivity， chemoselectivity, stereoselectivity and ease of large-scale cultivation. The novelty of marine enzymes in terms of structure and properties shows great promise for researchers in academia and industry.
Figure 1. Functional mechanism of enzyme.
Sources
The recognized sources of marine enzymes are marine microorganisms, marine plants and marine animals.
Due to the extremes and fluctuations in pressure, temperature and salt concentration in the marine environment, marine microorganisms have had to evolve. This evolution has prompted marine microorganisms to produce multiple enzyme systems to adapt to complex marine environments. Enzymes from marine microorganisms are more stable and active than corresponding enzymes from plants or animals. In recent years, researchers have isolated a variety of enzymes with specific activities from marine bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes and other marine microorganisms, some of which have been used in a variety of industries, including food, leather, textiles and animal feed.
Marine plants, particularly marine algae, are a promising source of marine enzymes. Many commercially valuable enzymes have been isolated from marine phytoplankton. For example, superoxide dismutase isolated from marine algae is already playing an increasing role in various fields such as food, medicine, cosmetics and theoretical research in the life sciences.
In addition to microorganisms and plants, many marine animals such as fish, shrimps, crabs and snakes are also being studied for the development of marine enzymes. Some of these products have been launched, and some are undergoing clinical trials. For example, the Sunlife Corporation (USA) sells an active enzyme whose active ingredient is digestive protease trypsin from the North Atlantic cod. It is a very powerful psychrogenic proteolytic enzyme and can be used as a skin care product.
What we offer
Alfa Chemistry has the ability to extract high quality marine enzymes from the above sources. Depending on your different needs, you can choose from the following products.
- Chitinase: Chitinase is a kind of hydrolase that catalyzes chitin and is synthesized by a variety of organisms.
- Agarase: Agarase is an important hydrolytic enzyme for the biodegradation of agar. It is found in agarolytic bacteria and is the first enzyme in the agar catabolic pathway.
- Amylase: Amylase is an enzyme that helps to digest carbohydrates. Its main function is to hydrolyze the glycosidic bonds in starch molecules, converting complex carbohydrates to simple sugars.
- Alginate lyase: Alginate lyase degrades alginate through a beta-elimination mechanism, resulting in the production of alginate oligosaccharides with specific biological activity.
- Lipase: Lipase is a widely used and multifunctional enzyme that catalyzes the breakdown of oils and fats, followed by the release of free fatty acids, diacylglycerols, monoglycerols and glycerol.
- κ-Carrageenase: κ-Carrageenase is a kind of glycoside hydrolase, which can be used to hydrolyze κ-carrageenan into κ-carrageenan oligosaccharides.
Alfa Chemistry has a deep research foundation in the field of marine chemistry and is committed to providing customers with a wide range of marine enzymes. If you do not find what you need, please contact us. We also offer product customization according to customer's detailed requirements.
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.
