The psychrotrophic yeast Sporobolomyces roseus LOCK 1119 as a source of a highly active aspartic protease for the in vitro production of antioxidant peptides.

A psychrotrophic yeast strain producing a cold-adapted protease at low temperature was classified as Sporobolomyces roseus. In standard YPG medium, S. roseus LOCK 1119 synthesized an extracellular protease with an activity of approximately 560 U/L. Optimization of medium composition and process temperature considerably enhanced enzyme biosynthesis; an approximate 70% increase in activity (2060 U/L). The native enzyme was purified to homogeneity by cation exchange chromatography followed by a size exclusion step, resulting in a 103-fold increase in specific activity (660 U/mg) with 25% recovery. The enzyme displayed 10%-30% of its maximum activity at 0-25 °C, with the optimum temperature being 50°C. Protease G8 was strongly inactivated by pepstatin A, an aspartic protease inhibitor. The enzyme was used to hydrolyze four natural substrates, and their antioxidant activities were evaluated against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl. The highest antioxidant activity (69%) was recorded for beef casein.