Separation Science and Technology, Vol.53, No.4, 636-644, 2018
A simple method for purification of bromelain in a thermosensitive triblock copolymer-based protection system and recycling of phase components
In the work, we chose stem bromelain as a model to investigate the storage and purification of bromelain from pineapple peel. Extraction of bromelain from pineapple peel using a two-stage aqueous two-phase extraction system composed of a thermoseparating copolymer EOPOEO and K2HPO4. Bromelain predominantly partitioned to the EOPOEO-rich phase and then re-extract to the top dilute phase. The recovery of enzyme activity (68.6%) and purification factor (6.53) were determined under optimum conditions. The EOPOEO-rich phase and salt were recycled, and the recovery of enzyme activity could reach up to 60%. This method has been proved to obtain highly purified and stable bromelain.