Swati Sucharita Dash

Bio: Swati Sucharita Dash is an academic researcher from Indian Institute of Technology Madras. The author has contributed to research in topics: Caffeine & Decaffeination. The author has an hindex of 10, co-authored 15 publications receiving 292 citations. Previous affiliations of Swati Sucharita Dash include Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture.

Catabolic pathways and biotechnological applications of microbial caffeine degradation

Abstract: Catabolism of caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) in microorganisms commences via two possible mechanisms: demethylation and oxidation. Through the demethylation route, the major metabolite formed in fungi is theophylline (1,3-dimethylxanthine), whereas theobromine (3,7-dimethylxanthine) is the major metabolite in bacteria. In certain bacterial species, caffeine has also been oxidized directly to trimethyl uric acid in a single step. The conversion of caffeine to its metabolites is primarily brought about by N-demethylases (such as caffeine demethylase, theobromine demethylase and heteroxanthinedemethylase), caffeine oxidase and xanthine oxidase that are produced by several caffeine-degrading bacterial species such as Pseudomonas putida and species within the genera Alcaligenes, Rhodococcus and Klebsiella. Development of biodecaffeination techniques using these enzymes or using whole cells offers an attractive alternative to the present existing chemical and physical methods removal of caffeine, which are costly, toxic and non-specific to caffeine. This review mainly focuses on the biochemistry of microbial caffeine degradation, presenting recent advances and the potential biotechnological application of caffeine-degrading enzymes.

Inducible nature of the enzymes involved in catabolism of caffeine and related methylxanthines.

Abstract: Previously isolated strain of Pseudomonas sp. has the capability of utilizing caffeine as the sole source of carbon and nitrogen and degrading caffeine at higher concentrations (>10 g l–1). In this study, an assay has been developed to study the enzymatic conversion of caffeine to subsequent methylxanthines by cell free extracts of Pseudomonas sp., the activity of which has been stabilized by use of stabilizers in the lysis buffer. Growth of the strain in various methylxanthines and later enzyme assay demonstrated that the enzyme(s) involved in degradation of caffeine and other methylxanthines were inducible in nature. The results also indicated that more than one enzyme are involved in degradation of caffeine to xanthine, which constitute the primary steps in bacterial caffeine catabolism. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Applications of Ionic Liquids in the Food and Bioproducts Industries

Abstract: Ionic liquids (ILs) have been extensively used in many research and industry fields, including chemical and pharmaceutical applications. Nevertheless, during past years, some works revealed that those green solvents in fact could present certain toxicity levels. This is the reason why some biocompounds from natural sources, such as choline, amino acids, and organic acids, for synthesis of ILs have showed to be alternatives. This means that there is evidence that ILs with low or nontoxic effects could be synthesized, possibly overcoming the major drawback of using them in the food industry. Applications of these third generation ILs, or even the most common ILs, in food processes are scarce and mainly focused on extraction processes and chemical analysis methods. These works have proven that, considering the physical properties of ILs of interest for the food industry such as melting profile, solubility, viscoelasticity, and high biocompatibility, when compared to those commonly used, ILs are alternatives ...