ABSTRACT
Xylooligosaccharides (XOS) are non-digestible and fermentable oligomers that stand out for their efficient production by enzymatic hydrolysis and beneficial effects on human health. This study aimed to investigate the influence of the main reaction parameters of the beechwood xylan hydrolysis using crude xylanase from Aureobasidium pullulans CCT 1261, thus achieving the maximum XOS production. The effects of temperature (40 to 50 °C), reaction time (12 to 48 h), type of agitation, substrate concentration (1 to 6%, w/v), xylanase loading (100 to 300 U/g xylan), and pH (4.0 to 6.0) on the XOS production were fully evaluated. The most suitable conditions for XOS production included orbital shaking of 180 rpm, 40 °C, and 24 h of reaction. High contents of total XOS (10.1 mg/mL) and XOS with degree of polymerization (DP) of 2-3 (9.7 mg/mL), besides to a high percentage of XOS (99.1%), were obtained at 6% (w/v) of beechwood xylan, xylanase loading of 260 U/g xylan, and pH 6.0. The establishment of the best hydrolysis conditions allowed increasing both the content of total XOS 1.5-fold and the percentage of XOS by 9.4%, when compared to the initial production (6.7 mg/mL and 89.7%, respectively). Thus, this study established an efficient enzymatic hydrolysis process that results in a hydrolysate containing XOS with potential prebiotic character (i.e., rich in XOS with DP 2-3) and low xylose amounts.
