Acid Stable Yeast Cell-Associated Tannase with High Capability in Gallated Catechin Biotransformation

Previously, nine tannin-tolerant and tannase-producing yeasts were isolated from Miang; all produced cell-associated tannase (CAT) during growth in tannin substrate. Among which, only CAT from Sporidiobolus ruineniae showed better stability than its purified form. Yet, it is of particular interest to directly characterize CATs from the latter yeasts. In this study, four CATs from yeasts, namely Cyberlindnera rhodanensis A22.3, Candida sp. A39.3, Debaryomyces hansenii A45.1, and Cy. rhodanensis A45.3 were characterized. The results indicate that all CATs were produced within the same production yield (11 mU/mL). Most CATs exhibited similar pH and temperature optima and stabilities, except for CAT from Cy. rhodanensis A22.3. This CAT was assigned as acid-stable tannase due to its unusual optimum pH of 2.0 with pH stability and half-life thermostability in the range of pH 2.0–4.0, and 70 °C, respectively. All CATs demonstrated high substrate specificity toward epigallocatechin gallate and epicatechin gallate, thus forming epigallocatechin and epicatechin, respectively. Moreover, they showed operational stability to repeated use for up to five cycles without loss of the initial activity. Therefore, CATs from these yeasts could be useful for the extraction and biotransformation of tea catechins and related applications.