ABSTRACT
Enzymes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428 Further Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
In the 1600-1800s, the action of enzymes in living or respiring tissues were referred to as ferments. Examples representing early food enzymology include alcoholic fermentations of yeast, digestive processes in animals, and malting of grains to evoke “diastatic” activity, causing a conversion of starch into sugar. The term “enzyme” was coined by W. Kühne in 1878 from the Greek term enzyme, which translates to “in yeast.” Thus, early biochemistry was inseparable from what we would now view as food biochemistry.
