Enzymatic Cross-Linking in Food Systems

Enzymatic cross-linking harnesses the specificity and mild operating conditions of biocatalysts to form new covalent bonds within or between food biopolymers, notably proteins and polysaccharides. By employing enzymes such as transglutaminases, oxidoreductases and peroxidases, it is possible to tailor textural attributes, improve thermal and pH stability, and modulate water‐binding capacity without resorting to chemical additives. In practice, transglutaminase has been widely used to strengthen protein networks in dairy, meat and plant‐based formulations, while laccase and peroxidases promote oxidative coupling of phenolic residues in pectins and hemicelluloses, enabling novel gel or foam structures. These enzymatic approaches align with clean‐label trends and the valorisation of by‐products, such as exploiting ferulated pectins from sugar beet pulp. Challenges persist in controlling cross‐link density, ensuring batch‐to‐batch reproducibility and assessing potential impacts on allergenicity, but advances in enzyme engineering and process integration are expanding the scope of applications across bakery, emulsions, aerated confections and meat analogues.

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Enzymatic Cross-Linking in Food Systems publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in enzymatic cross-linking in food systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Transglutaminase: enzyme that catalyses isopeptide bond formation between glutamine and lysine side chains in proteins, reinforcing protein networks.

Laccase: copper‐containing oxidase that catalyses one‐electron oxidation of phenolic substrates, enabling cross‐linking of ferulate residues in polysaccharides.

Ferulic acid: hydroxycinnamic acid moiety esterified to plant cell wall polysaccharides, serving as a reactive handle for oxidative cross‐linking.

Isopeptide bond: covalent linkage between amino acid side chains, distinct from peptide bonds in the main backbone, that stabilises three‐dimensional networks.

References

1. Enzyme-catalyzed protein crosslinking. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology (2012).
2. Physico-Chemical Properties of Sugar Beet Pectin-Sodium Caseinate Conjugates via Different Interaction Mechanisms. Foods (2019).
3. Enzymatic cross-linking of pectin in a high-pressure foaming process. Food & Function (2020).
4. Trametes sp. as a Source of Biopolymer Cross-Linking Agents: Laccase Induced Gelation of Ferulated Arabinoxylans. Molecules (2009).