| 摘要 |
PURPOSE: To obtain a new protease useful as meat-softening agent, etc., capable of softening round of a bovine, resistant to proceed the softening after a certain period of time when applied on it under specific conditions and enabling the softening of hard beef having a lot of muscles such as imported beef into an adequate degree of softness without special controlling. CONSTITUTION: This is a new metalloproteinase useful as meat-softening agent obtained in the following processes. A strain belonging to the genus Bacillus [e.g. Bacillus sp. KSM-PF 1 (FERM P-14408)] is inoculated into a culture medium and subjected to submerged culture at 30 deg.C for 20hr. The cultured liquid is treated by centrifuge to collect the supernatant followed by sterilization, desalting and concentration treatment, and lyophilization. When 10g of round of a bovine is kept at 20 deg.C in the presence of the obtained protease applied on it in an amount of 300 units in terms of enzyme unit, the softening of the meat does not proceed after 24hr. Accordingly, the protease can soften hard meat having a lot of muscles such as imported beef into an adequate degree of softness without taking special caution regarding the amount of the enzyme, treating time, etc. |
