ABSTRACT

Enzymes are a key factor in food biotechnology and it is a current topic of interest among researchers. Several enzymes are of great importance in food processes, where in this case, β-glucosidase has many uses in this area. For its production, fungi are often utilized; as cellulase producers, where Trichoderma and Aspergillus genus stand out among producers. The systems for fungal cellulase production are more common in liquid or submerged state cultures, but interest in solid-state processes is increasing. Solid-state cultures have advantages such as less residual water, higher substrate levels, and less energy input. Most of the processes reported for β-glucosidase production use lignocellulosic residues or highly-available 60plant resources which also represents an advantage. As it is well known, this enzyme has the role of releasing glucose as the final step in cellulosic enzymatic degradation, but it can also hydrolyze other types of compounds, such as phenolic glycosides, glycoproteins, to name a few. Also, its transglycosylation activity is of interest due to the ability to synthesize glycosylated compounds useful in the food industry. In this chapter, enzymatic reactions of importance in winemaking, flavor improvement, animal feed, among other aspects, will be addressed giving great importance of food applications concerning biotechnology.