Study of Different Conditions of Enzymatic Hydrolysis in Earthworms

Maira Post Muller, Alana Uebel, Maite Lampert Nieland, Maria Cristina Dallazen, Daniel Kuhn, Henrique Pretto Etgeton, Claucia Fernanda Volken de Souza, Cristiano Giovanella, Eduardo Miranda Ethur , Lucelia Hoehne

The aim of this paper was to study different conditions of enzymatic hydrolysis in earthworms. As to methodology, 25 g of earthworms of the Eisenia andrei species were frozen and crushed. After, the samples were divided into two different procedures (A and B). In the first one, pH level of the earthworms was adjusted to 8.6 with a 0.5 mol/L NaOH solution prior to the addition of a buffer solution (H3BO3.KCl - NaOH). The second procedure consisted of adding the same buffer solution without pH modification. Both methods were submitted to the addition of the alkaline enzyme. Samples were agitated with a shaker equipment (280 rpm at 54.2 ºC) and tested at time intervals between 0 and 10 hours. The Lowry method for protein quantitation was used to analyze the soluble protein content. A difference of 22 times in the better performance time of the two methodologies was noted. Procedure B presented the best efficiency, with the time interval of 6 hours. This work may contribute to the development of new products containing high levels of hydrolysates, which facilitate their absorption into livestock.