Hydrolysis of flavanone glycosides by β-glucosidase from Pyrococcus furiosus and its application to the production of flavanone aglycones from citrus extracts.

The hydrolytic activity of the recombinant β-glucosidase from Pyrococcus furiosus for the flavanone glycoside hesperidin was optimal at pH 5.5 and 95 °C in the presence of 0.5% (v/v) dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and 0.1% (w/v) Tween 40 with a half-life of 88 h, a Km of 1.6 mM, and a kcat of 68.4 1/s. The specific activity of the enzyme for flavonoid glycosides followed the order hesperidin > neohesperidin > naringin > narirutin > poncirin > diosmin > neoponcirin > rutin. The specific activity for flavanone was higher than that for flavone or flavonol. DMSO at 10% (v/v) was used to increase the solubility of flavanone glycosides as substrates. The enzyme completely converted flavanone glycosides (1 g/L) to flavanone aglycones and disaccharides via one-step reaction. The major flavanone in grapefruit peel, grapefruit pulp, or orange peel extract was naringin (47.5 mg/g), naringin (16.6 mg/g), or hesperidin (18.2 mg/g), respectively. β-Glucosidase from P. furiosus completely converted naringin and narirutin in 100% (w/v) grapefruit peel extract to 22.5 g/L naringenin after 12 h, with a productivity of 1.88 g L(-1) h(-1); naringin and narirutin in 100% (w/v) grapefruit pulp extract to 8.1 g/L naringenin after 9 h, with a productivity of 0.90 g L(-1) h(-1); and hesperidin in 100% (w/v) orange peel extract to 9.0 g/L hesperetin after 9 h, with a productivity of 1.00 g L(-1) h(-1). The conversion yields, concentrations, and productivities of flavanone aglycones in this study are the highest among those obtained from citrus extracts. Thus, this enzyme may be useful for the industrial hydrolysis of flavanone glycosides in citrus extracts.