Pectinase is well known enzyme that hydrolyzes pectin (polygalacturonic acid) into galacturonic acid monomers. The major commercial application of pectinase is fruit juice extraction and clarification. Pectinases have also been used in numerous industrial processes such as textile, oil extraction, tea, coffee, plant fiber processing and waste water treatment etc. This enzyme can be obtained from microbial and plant sources. The present invention is a process for the preparation of pectinase enzyme from the latex, stem, bark and leaf of the plant Jatropha tanjorensis. The plant is generally used for fencing, pharmaceutical purposes and also as vegetable. The pectinase enzyme prepared from the plant Jatropha tanjorensis is capable of efficiently hydrolyzing the polysaccharide pectin of guava, apple and citrus into monosaccharide units in the pH range of 2 - 10 at a temperature range of 10 - 70°C.
