Cuantificación de la bromelina extraída de las cáscaras, corazón y tallo de la piña por el método de bradford

Abstract

Bromelain is a proteolytic enzyme present in pineapple (Ananas comosus), with applications in pharmaceutical, food and biotechnological industries. The study focused on the extraction of bromelain from pineapple residues, such as peels, core and stem, to valorize these by-products and reduce the environmental impact. The Bradford method was used for protein quantification, due to its simplicity, speed and low cost. The experimental process included physicochemical pretreatment of the samples, extraction of bromelain using sodium citrate, purification by precipitation with ammonium sulfate, and quantification of the enzyme by UV-visible spectrophotometry. In addition, the enzymatic activity of bromelain was evaluated using egg albumin as a substrate. The results showed that the pineapple stem presented the highest bromelain concentration (2.0373 mg/L), followed by the peels (1.7850 mg/L) and the core (1.6357 mg/L). These differences were statistically significant, confirming that the stem is the most efficient source for bromelain extraction. In terms of enzymatic activity, the peel showed the highest protein hydrolysis capacity, reaching its peak at 30 minutes (0.1979 ppm), followed by the heart (0.1838 ppm) and the stem (0.1489 ppm). However, the enzymatic activity of the stem was more stable over time, suggesting advantages in industrial applications requiring prolonged activity. The study shows that the pineapple stem is the richest source of bromelain, but the peels and core can also be used as by-products for the extraction of this enzyme, contributing to the valorization of agricultural residues and the reduction of environmental impact. Further studies are recommended to optimize the extraction and purification parameters, as well as to validate the results with more advanced analytical techniques.