Proteinaceous inhibitors of carbohydrate-active enzymes in cereals - implication in agriculture, cereal-processing and nutrition

Enzymes that degrade, modify, or create glycosidic bonds are involved in carbohydrate biosynthesis and remodelling. Microbial carbohydrate-active enzymes form the basis of current green technology in the food, feed, starch, paper and pulp industries and the revolution in genomics may offer long-term gains on the quality and quantity of the raw materials. Proteinaceous inhibitors of carbohydrate-active enzymes (alpha-amylase, limit-dextrinase, polygalacturonase, pectin lyase, pectin methylesterase, invertase and xyloglucan endoglucanase) naturally occur in plants where they are involved in various roles from plant defence to metabolism. Xylanase inhibitors represent the latest addition to this growing family. In this review, we will focus on the inhibitors of carbohydrate-active enzymes present in cereals, mostly represented by et-amylase and xylanase inhibitors, and summarise the existing knowledge on their structure, function, and implication in cereal processing, agriculture and nutrition. (c) 2006 Society of Chemical Industry