PROTEASE ENZYME FROM CUCUMBER AS ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT

Abstract

Introduction: The following study was conducted to characterize the protease enzyme present in peel and flesh of cucumber; Cucumis sativus, which can be found easily in Malaysia. Method: The extracts from peel and flesh have been partial purified by undergoing ammonium sulphate precipitation and dialysis in order to obtain protease enzyme. The protease enzyme was tested for its concentration and enzyme activity. Results: The specific activity of the enzyme was found to be almost the same between peels and flesh which was 3.08 units/µg of protein in peels and 2.90 units/µg of protein flesh. The crude extracts and protease enzyme were then further tested for their antimicrobial activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumonia, Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella thyphi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subitlis, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Candida albicans. The crude extracts showed positive inhibition against S.thyphi with zone of inhibition of 7.33±0.58 mm and 7.17±0.29 mm for flesh and peels respectively, while the zone of inhibition against P.aeruginosa was 7.33±0.29 mm and 7.33±0.58 mm for flesh and peels respectively. However, no inhibition zone was observed for partial purified protease tested on selected pathogenic microbes. Conclusion: The findings shows that the ability of protease enzyme as antimicrobial agents varies based on the stage in partial purification.