Abstract
The pectin-methylesterase (PM) of persimmon fruits is extracted most effectively from the pulp with use of 3.0M NaCl solution, and the activity of the enzyme reaches the maximum in the medium of 0.15M NaCl concentration.
The optimum pH is 6.5 at the optimum NaCl concentration.
The PM of the fruits gradually increases with development to maturity and worm-eaten fruits contain more PM than those not so affected.
There is some difference in amount of PM specifically for varieties.
The artificial removal of astringency of astringent fruits exercises no significant influence upon the PM content, and the upper half of the fruit contains less PM than the lower half thereof.
