Beer is a fermented alcoholic beverage composed of several ingredients, including purine compounds. When these molecules are ingested by the body, they are catabolized into uric acid, causing some symptoms. Therefore, it is of great significance to develop purine compounds that can be removed from alcoholic beverages such as beer. This blog will present purine introduction, purine removal method and how activated carbon work for it.
What is purine?
Purine is a substance that exists in the body, mainly in the form of purine nucleotides, and plays a very important role in energy supply, metabolic regulation, and coenzyme composition. Purine is an organic compound with the molecular formula C5H4N4. It is a colorless crystal. In the human body, purine is oxidized and turns into uric acid. Excessive uric acid in the human body can cause gout. The purine content in beer is generally high, so gout patient should pay attention to dietary taboos.
How to remove purine in the beer？
Beer is a carbon dioxide-rich, low-alcohol wine made from barley malt, hops, and water by yeast fermentation, and is known as “liquid bread”. Malt is the main source of purine-like substances in beer. During malt preparation, the DNA and RNA degradation products in the barley kernel are free purine and pyrimidine bases, pentose sugar and phosphoric acid. The free purines contained can be easily absorbed and rapidly generate uric acid, and the high content of guanosine in beer can also be metabolised into purines, thus easily triggering gout. So it is important to remove purine in the beer.
Purine removal method
Adsorption
Adsorption method is the most common method to reduce purine content in food by giving full play to the adsorption performance of adsorbent to achieve direct reduction of purine content in food. At present, the widely used purine adsorbents include artificial zeolite, activated carbon, diatomaceous earth, chitosan and silica gel.
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External enzymatic method
Genetic engineering is to produce the required enzymes and add them to food to reduce the purine content in food. For example, in the process of beer making, purine nucleoside phosphorylase with the ability to hydrolyze nucleotides can be added (just add the saccharified mash produced during the beer making process) to increase the mass concentration of free purine bases in the wort and subsequent fermentation. The efficient use of free purine bases during the process reduces the purine content in the beer produced.
Ultrasonic treatment
Ultrasound refers to the interaction with the medium at a frequency of 20kHz~1MHz, thereby causing certain damage to the cell structure and components of the product, increasing the leakage of intracellular lysate, and improving the extraction efficiency of the target substance by degrading polymer substances.
Microecological method
At present, the microecological method mainly produces various microecological preparations by selecting probiotics with specific physiological activities, so that people can achieve their effective physiological effects after taking them. Current research shows that some strains can absorb and utilize purine in vitro, reducing the purine content, such as Bifidobacterium and lactic acid.
How does activated carbon remove purine?
When activated carbon is used to remove purines from beer, it is typically added to the beer in powder or granular form and mixed with the beer for a period of time, usually a few hours to a day. During this process, the microporous structure of activated carbon adsorbs purine molecules. The beer containing activated carbon is then separated by filtration or sedimentation to remove purines. This treatment usually occurs at a later stage of beer production to ensure maximum reduction in purine content before the beer is filled. This process can be carried out in industrial production, and a similar method can be used to control purine content in home brewing beer.
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Conclusion
Purines in beer can be problematic for those at risk of conditions like gout, but using activated carbon offers a practical solution. Activated carbon’s porous structure efficiently removes purines from beer, reducing health risks. Companies like Zhulin Carbon specialize in providing quality activated carbon solutions, making them essential partners for breweries aiming to enhance product safety. Whether you’re a professional brewer or a home enthusiast, consider Zhulin Carbon for a healthier brewing process. Cheers to better beer with Zhulin Carbon!