9001-33-6

Buff to cream-colored powder; acrid odor. Very hygroscopic. Partially soluble in water; insoluble in organic solvents.

Protein digestant. In the brewing industry as a chill proofing agent in beer. In the cheese industry as a substitute for rennet in the coagulation of milk. In the meat industry as a meat tenderizer and as an agent for removing casings from formed sausage. In the leather industry for the bating of leather. In the textile industry for shrinkproofing wool, for removing gelatin from sized thread, and mixed with amylases and maltases as a spot remover. In the preparation of peptones. For solubilizing protein material in spent grains. Also used in the determination of the Rh factor. Speeds 10 times the agglutination of human blood cells by the Rh factor when in contact with the anti-Rh serum.

The purified proteolytic substance derived from the latex of Ficus spp. which include a variety of tropical fig trees. The material presents as white to off-white powders which are completely soluble in water (liquid fig latex concentrates are light brown to dark brown). The major active principle is ficin, IUB No. 3.4.22.3, CAS No. 9001-33-6.
Ficin has been cleared by the Meat and Poultry Inspection Division to soften tissues of beef cuts and of raw poultry muscle tissue of the hen, cock, mature turkey, mature duck, mature goose and mature guinea, as follows: Solutions consisting of water and approved proteolytic enzyme applied or injected into raw poultry tissues or cuts of beef shall not result in a weight gain of more than 3%. When approved proteolytic enzymes are used in mature poultry muscle tissue or on steaks or other raw meat cuts, there must be a label indicating such.

Ficin is effective in disrupting the staphylococcal?biofilms making it accessible antibiotics exposure.