Effect of ultrasound and high hydrostatic pressure (US/HHP) on the degradation of dextran catalyzed by dextranase

•The effect of US/HHP on enzymatic activity of dextranase was investigated.•US/HHP treatment increased the dextranase activity by 163.79% compared with the control.•Vmax, KM and kcat values of dextranase increased under US/HHP treatment compared with the control.•US/HHP treatments could be an effective method for improving enzyme activity in many industries. In our current research work, the effect of combination of ultrasonic irradiation and high hydrostatic pressure (US/HHP) on the enzymatic activity and enzymatic hydrolysis kinetic parameters of dextran catalytic by dextranase were investigated. Furthermore, the effects of US/HHP on the structure of dextranase were also discussed with the aid of fluorescence spectroscopy and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. The maximum hydrolysis of dextran was observed under US (40W at 25kHz for 15min) combined with HHP (400MPa for 25min), in which the hydrolysis of dextran increased by 163.79% compared with the routine thermal incubation at 50°C. Results also showed that, Vmax and KM values, as well as, kcat of dextranase under US/HHP treatment were higher than that under US, HHP and thermal incubation at 50°C, indicated that, the substrate is converted into the product at an increased rate when compared with the incubation at 50°C. Compared to the enzymatic reaction under US, HHP, and routine thermal incubation, dextranase enzymatic reaction under US/HHP treatment showed decreases in Ea, ΔG and ΔH, however small increase in ΔS value was observed. In addition, fluorescence and CD spectra reflected that US/HHP treatment had increased the number of tryptophan on dextranase surface with increased α-helix by 19.80% and reduced random coil by 6.94% upon US/HHP-treated dextranase protein compared to the control, which were helpful for the improvement of its activity. These results indicated that, the combination of US and HHP treatments could be an effective method for improving the hydrolysis of dextran in many industrial applications including sugar manufacturing processes.