Abstract: The goal of this study was to develop an optimum hydrolysis process for preparing corn juice from fresh wax corn cultivar   Jiangnanhuanuo,,. A series of single factor experiments were carried out to address the effects of mid-temperature α-amylase dosage, neutral protease dosage and neutral protease hydrolysis time on suspension stability. Box-Behnken design coupled with response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize hydrolysis conditions of fresh wax corn juice. The result showed that its suspension stability was significantly influenced by mid-temperature α-amylase dosage, neutral protease dosage as well as neutral protease hydrolysis time. The optimal hydrolysis conditions were achieved as follows: mid-temperature α-amylase dosage 7.5 U/g, neutral protease dosage 83 U/g and neutral protease hydrolysis time 43 min. Under these conditions, the suspension stability of fresh wax corn juice was improved to the greatest extent (OD660 = 1.832, presenting a relative error less than 0.5% when compared with the predicted counterpart). 

Key words: wax corn juice, enzyme hydrolysis, suspension stability, response surface methodology (RSM)