Enzymatic properties of the sweet-tasting proteins thaumatin and monellin after partial reduction.

After partial reduction of disulfide bonds in the thaumatins, the sweet-tasting proteins from the fruits of Thaumatococcus danielii Benth, a rapid autodigestion was demonstrated. In the presence of suitable substrates, the reduced thaumatins showed protease, amidase and esterase activity. Thiol-blocking reagents like mercury(II) chloride inhibited the enzymatic activity. Of the thaumatins b, c, I, II and III (with increasing isoelectric points), thaumatin I showed the lowest enzymatic activity. In this series, the enzymatic activity increased from thaumatin I to thaumatin III as well as from thaumatin I to thaumatin b. Acetylation of the epsilon-amino group of lysine residues in the thaumatins by acetic anhydride, causing a decrease in basicity, led to an increase in enzymatic activity, which is correlated with the number of acetyl groups introduced. Comparison of the amino acid sequence of thaumatin I with that of cysteine proteases of plant origin showed no similarities. Moreover, the thaumatins lack histidine, one of the amino acids in the active site of the cysteine proteases. Monellin, the sweet-tasting protein from the fruits of Dioscoreophyllum cumminsii Diels, is not enzymatically active. However, when monellin with acetylated epsilon-amino groups of lysine residues was brought into a reducing environment it appeared to be enzymatically active. The similarities in properties of the thaumatins and monellin suggest a structural relationship between these proteins.