It is clearly demonstrated that significant progress has been made during the past seven years.

​This text presents the technological and physiological properties of pectin in an educational approach that encompasses all of the essential information a researcher needs to fully understand their function and use in foods. Utilizing basic information on pectin as well as recent technological advances, this book is designed to be the primary resource for individuals seeking out an up to date reference work covering all the necessary informational and functional aspects of pectin. Pectin: technological and physiological properties is the first book to fully focus on the introductory concepts on pectin. Individual chapters cover localization and function, the structural aspects of pectin, pectinases, isolation and characterization and recovery from agricultural wastes. Important current advances such as emulsions, films, digestion, metabolism and bioactive properties are also focused on. With its combination of vital basic information and technological advances, this book presents full and up to date coverage on this pectin and its many forms and uses in foods.

Pectins are one of the classes of complex structural plant cell wall polysaccharides. They are localized in the middle lamella and primary cell wall of higher plants. Pectins have a long-standing use as gelling agents whereas their enzymatic degradation or modification plays an important role in the processing of agricultural crops and the manufacturing of foods and beverages. Progress in pectin and pectinase research has been most prominent in two areas over the past 5 years. The first one concerns the analysis and elucidation of the complex chemical structure of pectin and identification of novel enzymes involved in the degradation of these structures. The second area concerns the mode of action and the 3-dimensional structure of various pectin degrading enzymes as well as the cloning of a large number of genes encoding enzymes involved in pectin degradation and modification. This book covers the following topics. First the structural, physical and chemical properties of pectin are treated followed by information about its biosynthesis and about the biological effects of pectin and its degradation products in biological systems such as plant-pathogen interactions and human nutrition. Identification of novel enzymes, the mode of action of different pectinases and the 3-D structure of bacterial pectate lyases forms the second block. This is followed by the genetics and regulation of pectinase biosynthesis in saprophytic and phytopathogenic microbial systems as well as in plant systems. Finally, developments in pectin manufacturing and application of pectinases in traditional (food, beverage) and novel technologies are treated. This book is meant for those actively involved in fundamental and applied aspects of pectin and pectinase research but it is also of value for those interested in plant cell wall biosynthesis and architecture, phytopathology, food technology and human nutrition. This book not only reflects the present status of research in the field but it will turn out to be a very useful reference work as well.

The primary objective of this book is to provide students and laboratory instructors at universities and professional ecologists with a broad range of established methods to study plant litter decomposition. Detailed protocols for direct use in the field or laboratory are presented in an easy to follow step-by-step format. A short introduction to each protocol reviews the ecological significance and principles of the technique and points to key references.

Pectin extracted from suitable plant sources is used as food ingredient for its gelling, stabilizing and thickening functionalities. Pectic substances also have a great impact on the quality of fresh and processed foods particularly fruits and vegetables. Plant products, fresh, extracted or processed, constitute a large part of the human diet. As a fibre, naturally present in these food products, pectic substances fulfil a nutritional function and are increasingly of interest as a health promoting polysaccharide. Pectin is one of the major components of the cell wall of dicotyledonous plants and probably one of the most complex macromolecules in nature. This book provides an update account of the most significant state of the art research on pectin and demonstrates that significant progress has been made in recent years. The book addresses progress made in the fields of biosynthesis and health modulating activities of pectin fractions, among other things. Research reported uses the most advanced current spectroscopic techniques and immunodetection methods combined with microscopy and chromatography, genomics of pectic enzymes of Aspergillus niger, and interaction of pectins with proteins. The progress documented in this book allows us to increasingly identify and influence the functionality of pectins and pectic enzymes both in vitro after isolation, as well as in the plants themselves. This knowledge is also reflected in new applications of pectin and pectin degrading enzymes. 'Pectins and Pectinases' is of interest to beginning and advanced researchers and food specialists in academic and commercial food industry settings globally.

Food Enzymes: Structure and Mechanism is the first volume to bring together current information on the structures and mechanisms of important food enzymes. It provides an in-depth discussion of the dynamic aspects of enzyme structures and their relationship to the chemistry of catalysis. The book emphasizes aspects of the chemistry of enzyme structure and mechanism seldom covered in the food science literature. It includes a thorough discussion of the genetic modification of enzyme structures and functions with reference to specific food enzymes. More than 100 illustrations enhance the clarity of important concepts. Comprehensive references reflect the current state of knowledge on enzyme actions.

Recent developments in genetic engineering and protein chemistry are bringing ever more powerful means of analysis to bear on the study of enzyme structure. This volume reviews the most important types of industrial enzymes. In a balanced manner it covers three interrelated aspects of paramount importance for enzyme performance: three-dimensional protein structure, physicochemical and catalytic properties, and the range of both classical and novel applications.

A fundamental understanding of polymers has evolved in recent years concurrent with advances in analytical instrumentation. The theories and methodologies developed for the galacturonan biopolymers (collectively called pectins) have seldom been discoursed comprehensively in the context of the new knowledge. This text explains the scientific and technical basis of many of the practices followed in processing and preparing foods fabricated with or containing pectin. The material is presented in a very readable fashion for those with limited technical training. - Structural analysis - Commercial extractions methods - Pectin formulations and tropical fruit analysis - Molecular mechanisms of gelatin - Enzymology - Polymer comformation techniques - Analytical methods of polymer analysis

R. S. SHALLENBERGER Cornell University, New York State Agricultural Research Station, New York, USA Among the material to be discussed in this first section of the 'Enzymes and Food Processing Symposium' is subject matter that can be viewed as a marriage between enzyme technology and sugar stereochemistry. In order to bring the significance of the material to be presented into proper perspective, I would like you to pretend, for a moment, that you are a researcher making a proposal on this subject to a Research Granting Agency in order to obtain financial support for your ideas. However, the year is 1880. Under the 'objectives' section of your proposal, you state that you intend to attach the intangible vital force or spirit-that is, the catalyst unique to the chemistry of living organisms-to an inert substrate such as sand. Thereafter you will pass a solution of right handed glucose (also known as starch sugar) past the 'vital force' and in the process convert it to left-handed glucose (also known as fruit sugar). The peer review committee would probably reject the proposal as sheer nonsense because the statements made were not only contrary to their experience, but also contrary to what they had been taught. Perhaps a few select people would have some feeling for what you were talking about, but commiseration would be the only form of support that they could offer.

Wineries are facing new challenges due to actual market demands for the creation of products exhibiting more particular flavors. In addition, climate change has lead to the requirement for grape varieties with specific features, such as convenient maturation times, enhanced tolerance towards dryness, osmotic stress, and resistance against plant-pathogens. The next generation of yeast starter cultures should produce wines with an appealing sensory profile and less alcohol. This Special Issue comprises actual studies addressing some of the problems and solutions for the environmental, technical, and consumer challenges of wine making today: Development of sophisticated mass spectroscopic methods enable the identification of the major metabolite spectrum of grapes/wine and deliver detailed insights in terroir and yeast-specific traits;Knowledge of the origin and reactions of reductive sulphur compounds facilitates the avoidance of unpleasant wine odors;Innovative physical–chemical treatments support effective and sustainable color extraction from red grape varieties;Enological enzymes from yeasts used directly or in the form of starter cultures are promising tools to increase the juice yields, color intensity, and aroma of wine;Natural and artificial Saccharomyces hybrids as well as collections of adapted wild isolates from various ecological niches will extend winemakers repertoire, allowing individual fermentations;Exact process control of wine fermentations by convenient computer programs will guarantee consistently high product quality.