Ficus palmata Forskål (beles adgi) as a source of milk clotting agent: a preliminary research

OBJECTIVE: The demand for cheese, the insufficient supply and high cost of rennet, and the ethical issues of harvesting rennet oblige us to search for suitable alternatives of finding new proteases from plants. Ficus palmata Forskål (Moraceae) is one of the plants producing a protease called ficin that coagulates fresh milk. This study aims to study the milk coagulating abilities of bark, leaf, and stem powders of F. palmata Forskål. RESULTS: Stem powder has yielded better results. Chemical analyses of the powders have revealed that the percentage of crude protein of leaf, bark, and stem powders were 4.17, 7.39, and 16.26. This is an indication of the suitability of stem biomass as source of the enzyme of interest. Further research needs to aim at qualitative and quantitative analyses of milk-coagulating enzymes of F. palmata Forskål stem biomass to get new insights into industrial extraction of the enzymes of interest.