Method for measuring protease activity of transglutaminase and transglutaminase composition

1. A method for selecting a microbial transglutaminase formulation for binding application comprising:

(a) measuring a protease activity of a plurality of microbial transglutaminase-containing products by a measurement method; and

(b) selecting a microbial transglutaminase-containing product with a ratio of protease activity to transglutaminase activity (units of protease activity/units of transglutaminase activity) no more than 0.00024,

wherein said measurement method comprises:

(i) preparing an aqueous solution of a microbial transglutaminase-containing product and an aqueous solution of a protease substrate in the form of dimethylcasein so that the ratio of transglutaminase activity to the quantity of dimethylcasein is 200 units/g or less;

(ii) conducting an enzymatic reaction based on protease;

(iii) adding an acid and filtering; and

(iv) measuring the concentration of said protease substrate in the filtrate.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said enzymatic reaction based on protease is conducted at a temperature of not less than 0° C. and not greater than 10° C.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein said ratio of protease activity to transglutaminase activity is no more than 0.00017.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein measurement of the protease activity in the microbial transglutaminase-containing product is conducted under the following conditions:

(I-a) preparing a solution of sample microbial transglutaminase-containing product and a solution of protease substrate in the form of dimethylcasein in a such a manner as to yield 2.4 parts of a pH 6 aqueous solution with a transglutaminase activity of 83.3 units/100 mL and a dimethylcasein content of 2.083 g/100 mL;

(I-b) conducting an enzymatic reaction based on the protease by mixing the solution of microbial transglutaminase-containing product and aqueous solution of dimethylcasein and allowing the mixture to stand for 24 hours at 5° C.;

(I-c) obtaining a sample filtrate by adding two parts of 12 percent trichioroacetic acid, centrifuging the mixture, and filtering the supernatant;

(II-a) preparing two parts of a pH 6 aqueous solution comprising 2.5 g/100 mL of dimethylcasein solution;

(II-b) allowing the dimethylcasein aqueous solution to stand for 24 hours at 5° C.;

(II-c) adding two parts of 12 percent trichioroacetic acid, adding 0.4 part of a solution of 500 units/100 mL of sample transglutaminase-containing product, mixing, centrifuging the mixture, and filtering the supernatant to obtain a blank filtrate;

(d) causing a coloration reaction by the Lowry method in the sample solution and blank filtrate, measuring the absorbance of each solution at a wavelength of from 500 to 700 nm employing distilled water as control, denoting the absorbance of the sample filtrate as A1and the absorbance of the blank filtrate as A2, separately causing a coloration reaction by the Lowry method in standard purified bovine serum albumin solution of known concentration, measuring the absorbance at a wavelength of from 500 to 700 nm employing distilled water as control, creating a calibration curve from the absorbance of the standard purified bovine serum albumin solution and the absorbance of the distilled water, calculating the protein concentration of the sample filtrate and blank (PA1, PA2) from absorbance values A1 and A2, and obtaining the protease activity from the following equation:

protease activity (units/g)=( PA 1 −PA 2)×4.4÷0.4÷1440× V÷W

wherein:

PA1

denotes the protein concentration of the sample filtrate

(mg BSA/mL);

PA2

denotes the protein concentration of the blank (mg BSA/mL);

4.4 ÷ 0.4

denotes the coefficient of conversion to the total quantity of

the solution at the end of the reaction;

1440

denotes the number of minutes in a reaction time of 24 hours;

V

denotes the dissolved volume of sample microbial trans-

glutaminase-containing product (mL); and

W

denotes the quantity of sample microbial transglutaminase-

containing product employed (g).

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein said ratio of protease activity to transglutaminase activity is no more than 0.00017.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein said ratio of protease activity to transglutaminase activity is no more than 0.00017.

7. A method for selecting a microbial transglutaminase formulation for binding application comprising:

(a) measuring the protease activity of a microbial transglutaminase-containing product; and

(b) selecting a protein-containing material and a microbial transglutaminase-containing product with a ratio of protease activity to transglutaminase activity (units of protease activity/units of transglutaminase activity) no more than 0.00024 for use,

wherein said measuring the protease activity of a microbial transglutaminase-containing product comprises:

(i) preparing an aqueous solution of a microbial transglutaminase-containing product and an aqueous solution of a protease substrate in the form of dimethylcasein so that the ratio of transglutaminase activity to the quantity of dimethylcasein is 200 units/g or less;

(ii) conducting an enzymatic reaction based on protease;

(iii) adding an acid and filtering; and

(iv) measuring the concentration of said protease substrate in the filtrate.

8. The method according to claim 7 , wherein said protein-containing material is gelatin.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein said enzymatic reaction based on protease is conducted at a temperature of not less than 0° C. and not greater than 10° C.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein said ratio of protease activity to transglutaminase activity is no more than 0.00017.

11. The method of claim 7 , wherein measurement of the protease activity in the microbial transglutaminase-containing product is conducted under the following conditions:

(I-a) preparing a solution of sample microbial transglutaminase-containing product and a solution of protease substrate in the form of dimethylcasein in a such a manner as to yield 2.4 parts of a pH 6 aqueous solution with a transglutaminase activity of 83.3 units/100 mL and a dimethylcasein content of 2.083 g/100 mL;

(I-b) conducting an enzymatic reaction based on the protease by mixing the solution of microbial transglutaminase-containing product and aqueous solution of dimethylcasein and allowing the mixture to stand for 24 hours at 5° C.;

(I-c) obtaining a sample filtrate by adding two parts of 12 percent trichloroacetic acid, centrifuging the mixture, and filtering the supernatant;

(II-a) preparing two parts of a pH 6 aqueous solution comprising 2.5 g/100 mL of dimethylcasein solution;

(II-b) allowing the dimethylcasein aqueous solution to stand for 24 hours at 5° C.;

(II-c) adding two parts of 12 percent trichloroacetic acid, adding 0.4 part of a solution of 500 units/100 mL of sample transglutaminase-containing product, mixing, centrifuging the mixture, and filtering the supernatant to obtain a blank filtrate;

(d) causing a coloration reaction by the Lowry method in the sample solution and blank filtrate, measuring the absorbance of each solution at a wavelength of from 500 to 700 nm employing distilled water as control, denoting the absorbance of the sample filtrate as Al and the absorbance of the blank filtrate as A2, separately causing a coloration reaction by the Lowry method in standard purified bovine serum albumin solution of known concentration, measuring the absorbance at a wavelength of from 500 to 700 nm employing distilled water as control, creating a calibration curve from the absorbance of the standard purified bovine serum albumin solution and the absorbance of the distilled water, calculating the protein concentration of the sample filtrate and blank (PA1, PA2) from absorbance values A1 and A2, and obtaining the protease activity from the following equation:

protease activity (units/g)=( PA 1 −PA 2)×4.4÷0.4÷1440× V÷W

wherein:

PA1

denotes the protein concentration of the sample filtrate

(mg BSA/mL);

PA2

denotes the protein concentration of the blank (mg BSA/mL);

4.4 ÷ 0.4

denotes the coefficient of conversion to the total quantity of

the solution at the end of the reaction;

1440

denotes the number of minutes in a reaction time of 24 hours;

V

denotes the dissolved volume of sample microbial trans-

glutaminase-containing product (mL); and

W

denotes the quantity of sample microbial transglutaminase-

containing product employed (g).

12. The method of claim 7 , wherein said ratio of protease activity to transglutaminase activity is no more than 0.00017.

13. A method for selecting a microbial transglutaminase formulation for Surimi product, comprising:

(a) measuring the protease activity of a plurality of microbial transglutaminase-containing products by a measurement method; and

(b) selecting a microbial transglutaminase-containing product with a ratio of protease activity to transglutaminase activity (units of protease activity/units of transglutaminase activity) no more than 0.002,

wherein said measurement method comprises:

(i) preparing an aqueous solution of a microbial transglutaminase-containing product and an aqueous solution of a protease substrate in the form of dimethylcasein so that the ratio of transglutaminase activity to the quantity of dimethylcasein is 200 units/g or less;

(ii) conducting an enzymatic reaction based on protease;

(iii) adding an acid and filtering; and

(iv) measuring the concentration of said protease substrate in the filtrate.

14. The method of claim 13 , comprising conducting an enzymatic reaction based on said protease at a temperature of not less than 30° C. but not greater than 50° C.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein said measurement of the protease activity in the microbial transglutaminase-containing product is conducted under the following conditions:

(I-a) preparing a solution of sample microbial transglutaminase-containing product and a solution of protease substrate in the form of dimethylcasein in a such a manner as to yield 2.4 parts of a pH 6 aqueous solution with a transglutaminase activity of 83.3 units/100 mL and a dimethylcasein content of 2.083 g/100 mL;

(I-b) conducting an enzymatic reaction based on the protease by mixing the solution of microbial transglutaminase-containing product and aqueous solution of dimethylcasein and allowing the mixture to stand for 1 hour at 40° C.;

(I-c) obtaining a sample filtrate by adding two parts of 12 percent trichioroacetic acid, centrifuging the mixture, and filtering the supernatant;

(II-a) preparing two parts of a pH 6 aqueous solution comprising 2.5 g/100 mL of dimethylcasein solution;

(II-b) allowing the dimethylcasein aqueous solution to stand for 1 hour at 40° C.;

(II-c) adding two parts of 12 percent trichloroacetic acid, adding 0.4 part of a solution of 500 units/IGO mL of sample transglutaminase-containing product, mixing, centrifuging the mixture, and filtering the supernatant to obtain a blank filtrate;

(d) causing a coloration reaction by the Lowry method in the sample solution and blank filtrate, measuring the absorbance of each solution at a wavelength of from 500 to 700 nm employing distilled water as control, denoting the absorbance of the sample filtrate as A1and the absorbance of the blank filtrate as A2, separately causing a coloration reaction by the Lowry method in standard purified bovine serum albumin solution of known concentration, measuring the absorbance at a wavelength of from 500 to 700 nm employing distilled water as control, creating a calibration curve from the absorbance of the standard purified bovine serum albumin solution and the absorbance of the distilled water, calculating the protein concentration of the sample filtrate and blank (PA1, PA2) from absorbance values A1 and A2, and obtaining the protease activity from the following equation:

protease activity (units/g)=( PA 1 −PA 2)×4.4÷0.4÷60× V÷W

wherein:

PA1

denotes the protein concentration of the sample filtrate

(mg BSA/mL);

PA2

denotes the protein concentration of the blank (mg BSA/mL);

4.4 ÷ 0.4

denotes the coefficient of conversion to the total quantity of

the solution at the end of the reaction;

60

denotes the number of minutes in a reaction time of 1 hour;

V

denotes the dissolved volume of sample microbial trans-

glutaminase-containing product (mL); and

W

denotes the quantity of sample microbial transglutaminase-

containing product employed (g).

16. A method for selecting a microbial transglutaminase formulation for Surimi product, comprising:

(a) measuring the protease activity of a microbial transglutaminase-containing product; and

(b) selecting a microbial transglutaminase-containing product with a ratio of protease activity to transglutaminase activity (units of protease activity/units of transglutaminase activity) no more than 0.002, and at least one additional component selected from the group consisting of calcium salts, alkali salts, and protein-containing materials,

wherein said measuring the protease activity of a microbial transglutaminase-containing product comprises:

(i) preparing an aqueous solution of a microbial transglutaminase-containing product and an aqueous solution of a protease substrate in the form of dimethylcasein so that the ratio of transglutaminase activity to the quantity of dimethylcasein is 200 units/g or less;

(ii) conducting an enzymatic reaction based on protease;

(iii) adding an acid and filtering; and

(iv) measuring the concentration of the said protease substrate in the filtrate.

17. The method of claim 16 , comprising conducting an enzymatic reaction based on said protease at a temperature of not less than 30° C. but not greater than 50° C.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein said measurement of the protease activity in the microbial transglutaminase-containing product is conducted under the following conditions:

(I-a) preparing a solution of sample microbial transglutaminase-containing product and a solution of protease substrate in the form of dimethylcasein in a such a manner as to yield 2.4 parts of a pH 6 aqueous solution with a transglutaminase activity of 83.3 units/100 mL and a dimethylcasein content of 2.083 g/100 mL;

(I-b) conducting an enzymatic reaction based on the protease by mixing the solution of microbial transglutaminase-containing product and aqueous solution of dimethylcasein and allowing the mixture to stand for 1 hour at 40° C.;

(I-c) obtaining a sample filtrate by adding two parts of 12 percent trichloroacetic acid, centrifuging the mixture, and filtering the supernatant;

(II-a) preparing two parts of a pH 6 aqueous solution comprising 2.5 g/100 mL of dimethylcasein solution;

(II-b) allowing the dimethylcasein aqueous solution to stand for 1 hour at 40° C.;

(II-c) adding two parts of 12 percent trichloroacetic acid, adding 0.4 part of a solution of 500 units/100 mL of sample transglutaminase-containing product, mixing, centrifuging the mixture, and filtering the supernatant to obtain a blank filtrate;

(d) causing a coloration reaction by the Lowry method in the sample solution and blank filtrate, measuring the absorbance of each solution at a wavelength of from 500 to 700 nm employing distilled water as control, denoting the absorbance of the sample filtrate as A1 and the absorbance of the blank filtrate as A2, separately causing a coloration reaction by the Lowry method in standard purified bovine serum albumin solution of known concentration, measuring the absorbance at a wavelength of from 500 to 700 nm employing distilled water as control, creating a calibration curve from the absorbance of the standard purified bovine serum albumin solution and the absorbance of the distilled water, calculating the protein concentration of the sample filtrate and blank (PA1, PA2) from absorbance values A1 and A2, and obtaining the protease activity from the following equation:

protease activity (units/g)=( PA 1 −PA 2)×4.4÷0.4÷60× V÷W

wherein:

PA1

denotes the protein concentration of the sample filtrate

(mg BSA/mL);

PA2

denotes the protein concentration of the blank (mg BSA/mL);

4.4 ÷ 0.4

denotes the coefficient of conversion to the total quantity of

the solution at the end of the reaction;

60

denotes the number of minutes in a reaction time of 1 hour;

V

denotes the dissolved volume of sample microbial trans-

glutaminase-containing product (mL); and

W

denotes the quantity of sample microbial transglutaminase-

containing product employed (g).

19. The method of claim 16 , wherein said ratio of protease activity to transglutaminase activity is no more than 0.00017.