Selective extraction of biomolecules from Saccharomyces cerevisiae assisted by high-pressure homogenization, pulsed electric fields, and heat treatment: Exploring the effect of endogenous enzymes

Abstract

Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains valuable compounds sought by the industry, prompting the exploration of effective extraction methods. Three physical methods were compared—High-Pressure Homogenization (HPH), Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF), and Heat Treatment (HT)—for releasing diverse bioproducts (amino acids, glutathione, proteins, and mannoproteins) from S. cerevisiae. Treatments (HPH: 2 passes at 100 MPa, PEF: 15 kV/cm for 100 μs (44.9 kJ/kg), HT: 60 °C for 5 min) affected over 90% of S. cerevisiae cells. Despite permeabilization, HT exhibited low efficacy in releasing compounds. HPH led to complete cell disruption, extracting maximum glutathione (1.09 ± 0.04 g/100 gdw) and proteins (68.95 ± 0.96 g/100 gdw) after 2 h. PEF facilitated the gradual extraction of low molecular weight compounds while leaving high molecular weight compounds unreleased initially. After 48 h, 72% of the total protein and amino acid content was released through hydrolysis catalyzed by endogenous yeast proteases. Furthermore, 64.1% of mannoproteins were obtained after 72 h of incubation. This study highlights the efficacy, scalability, and industrial potential of HPH and PEF, demonstrating their ability to produce tailored extracts over time and underscoring the significant role of endogenous enzymes in optimizing extraction yields. These findings provide valuable insights for enhancing efficiency and sustainability in bioproduct extraction from S. cerevisiae.