Pectinases are enzymes used in food industries, produced by plants, fungi, yeasts and bacteria. These microorganisms can be inoculated in a medium containing agro-industrial residues from processing agricultural products, used as a carbon source to produce value-added products such as enzymes, ethanol, proteins, amino acids and flavor compounds. Several microorganisms were isolated and selected due to their capacity to produce pectinolytic enzymes in clear halos around colonies by plate assay. From 104 strains, 18 were inoculated in a medium containing pectin as a carbon source and the pectinolytic activities of polygalacturonase (PG) and pectin lyase (PMGL) were determined. Strains 2, 9, 20, 39, 70, 74, and 99 showed activity units of PG higher than 80 µmol galacturonic acid/mL/minute. Strains 17, 18, 31, 37, 73, 74 and 125 showed activity units of PMGL higher than 1000 etamol unsaturated products/mL/minute. Strains 13, 70, 73, 74, 125 and 144 showed good signs of flavor noticed in the fructose and yeast extract medium and the most intense flavor according to a non-trained board of tasters.
pectin; fermentation; pectinolitic enzyme; polygalacturonase; pectin lyase; flavor
