Extraction and utilization of papain as meat tenderizer and antimicrobial agent

Globally deterioration of food is a serious economic loss. It is caused mostly by pathogenic microorganisms due to which one-fourth of total world's food supply is lost. The property of meat tenderness is an important factor in accepting or rejecting different types of meat products. The connective tissue proteins and structure of myofibrillar affect the softness of meat. Papaya is the tropical fruit having an enzyme papain, extracted from papaya fruit latex. Papain keeps tenderness and lessens the microbial activity. The present study was designed to extract the papain from papaya fruit through aqueous two phase system. The papain was subjected to physico-chemical analysis (pH, moisture, ash and protein) found 5.1, 6.3%, 8.8% and 58.5% respectively. The proteolytic activity of papain was 2407 units' g-1. Antimicrobial potential [Zone of Inhibition (ZI) and Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC)] of papain was determined against Salmonella typhimurium and was found 12 mm, 36.12 ug and 73.12 ug at MIC 50 and MIC 90 respectively. The beef kababs were prepared by incorporating the papain at various levels (0 mg/ml, 0.5 mg/ml, 1.0 mg/ml, 1.5 mg/ml, 2.0 mg/ml, 2.5 mg/ml and 3.0 mg/ml) and analyzed for protein, moisture, ash, fat, cooking yield, juiciness, texture, colour and sensory characteristics during 15 days storage. The result showed that there was significantly reduction in moisture content while protein, fat, ash, cooking yield showed non significant results during storage. Sensory scores showed that texture, colour, overall acceptability of beef kababs improved significantly with the addition of papain while taste and flavor showed non-significant results. Moreover there was significant decreased in scores given to texture, flavour, taste and overall acceptability during storage. It may be concluded from the results of present study that the papain can be successfully used to improve the shelf life and other quality characteristics of beef kababs.