Xylooligosaccharides: an economical prebiotic from agroresidues and their health benefits.

Oligosaccharides and dietary fibres are non-digestible food ingredients that preferentially stimulate the growth of prebiotic Bifidobacterium and other lactic acid bacteria in the gastro-intestinal tract. Xylooligosaccharides (XOS) provide a plethora of health benefits and can be incorporated into several functional foods. In the recent times, there has been an over emphasis on the microbial conversion of agroresidues into various value added products. Xylan, the major hemicellulosic component of lignocellulosic materials (LCMs), represents an important structural component of plant biomass in agricultural residues and could be a potent bioresource for XOS. On an industrial scale, XOS can be produced by chemical, enzymatic or chemo-enzymatic hydrolysis of LCMs. Chemical methods generate XOS with a broad degree of polymerization (DP), while enzymatic processes will be beneficial for the manufacture of food grade and pharmaceutically important XOS. Xylooligomers exert several health benefits, and therefore, have been considered to provide relief from several ailments. This review provides a brief on production, purification and structural characterization of XOS and their health benefits.

Molecular cloning, purification and characterization of thermostable -1,3-1,4 glucanase from Bacillus subtilis A8-8.

A gene encoding a -1,3-1,4-glucanase (CelA) belonging to family 5 of glycoside hydrolases was cloned and sequenced from the Bacillus subtilis A8-8. The open-reading-frame of celA comprised 1499 base pairs and the enzyme was composed of 500 amino acids with a molecular mass of 55 kDa. The recombinant -1,3-1,4 glucanase was purified by GST-fusion purification system. The pH and temperature optima of the enzyme were 8.0 and 60oC, respectively. The enzyme was stable within pH 6.0-9.0. It was stable up to 60oC and retained 30% of its original activity at 70oC for 60 min. It hydrolyzed lichenan, CMC, xylan, laminarin, avicel and pNPC, but was inactive towards cellobiose. The enzyme activity was markedly activated by Co2+ and Mn2+, but was strongly inactivated by Fe3+. The truncated gene, devoid of cellulose-binding domain (CBD) showed 60% of activity and bound to avicel.

Improvement of xylanase production in solid state fermentation by alkali-tolerant Aspergillus fumigatus MKU1 using a fractional factorial design.

Optimization of media for the maximum production of xylanase by Aspergillus fumigatus MKUI was carried out using De Meo's fractional factorial design with seven components such as NaNO3, K2HPO4, MgSO4, FeSO4. KCl, peptone and yeast extract. A. fumigatus produced a maximum of 700 U/gds of enzyme after 48 hr of incubation (before optimization). After two steps of optimization, the medium designed favoured a 2.8 fold (1950 U/gds) increase in xylanase production by A. fumigatus. Optimized medium for Aspergillus fumigatus contained (g/l) NaNO3, 15; K2HPO4, 15; MgSO4, 5; FeSO4, 0.009; KCI, 0.5; peptone, 20; and yeast extract, 10.