Sono-activation of food enzymes: From principles to practice

Over the last decade, sono-activation of enzymes as an emerging research area has received considerable attention from food researchers. This kind of relatively new application of ultrasound has demonstrated promising potential in facilitating the modern food industry by broadening the application of various food enzymes, improving relevant industrial unit operation and productivity, as well as increasing the yield of target products. This review aims to provide insight into the fundamental principles and possible industrialization strategies of the sono-activation of food enzymes to facilitate its commercialization. This review first provides an overview of ultrasound application in the activation of food protease, carbohydrase, and lipase. Then, the recent development on ultrasound activation of food enzymes is discussed on aspects including mechanisms, influencing factors, modification effects, and its applications in real food systems for free and immobilized enzymes. Despite the far fewer studies on sono-activation of immobilized enzymes compared with those on free enzymes, we endeavored to summarize the relevant aspects in three stages: ultrasound pretreatment of free enzyme/carrier, assistance in immobilization process, and modification of the already immobilized enzyme. Lastly, challenges for the scalability of ultrasound in these target areas are discussed and future research prospects are proposed.