Pectinolytic Decortication of Pepper (Piper nigrum L.)

Enzymatic decortication of pepper is an effective method for white pepper production. Pectinase was found to be most effective for the degradation of pepper skin. At optimum condition pectinase can facilitate green pepper decortication in 24 h and black pepper decortication in 40-45 h of incubation to provide white pepper. The pectinase activity was maximum on pepper skin in a basic mineral salt medium with pH 3.5 at 37-40°C. The yield of white pepper by enzymatic decortication was 27-32% from green and 67-73% from black peppers. The quality of the product obtained was superior to those obtained by other methods.