Simple, attractive and versatile technique, three-phase partitioning (TPP) was used to purify alpha-galactosidase from fermented media of Aspergillus oryzae. The various conditions required for attaining efficient purification of the alpha-galactosidase fractions were optimized. The addition of n-butanol, t-butanol, and isopropanol in the presence of ammonium sulfate pushes the protein out of the solution to form an interfacial precipitate layer between the lower aqueous and upper organic layers. The single step of three-phase partitioning, by saturating final concentration of ammonium sulfate (60%) with 1:1 t-butanol, gave activity recovery of 92% with 12-fold purification at second phase of TPP. The final purified enzyme after TPP showed considerable purification on SDS-PAGE with a molecular weight of 64 kDa. The enzyme after TPP showed improved activity in organic solvents. Results are compared with conventional established processes for the purification of alpha-galactosidase produced by Aspergillus oryzae and overall the proposed TPP technique resulted in 70% reduction of purification cost compared to conventional chromatographic protocols.

An extracellular thermostable alpha-galactosidase producing Aspergillus terreus (GR) strain was isolated from soil sample using guar gum as sole source of carbon. It was purified to apparent homogeneity by acetone precipitation, gel filtration followed by DEAE-Sephacel chromatographic step. The purified enzyme showed a single band after sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The molecular weight of the purified enzyme after SDS-PAGE was 108 kDa. The enzyme showed optimum pH and temperature of 5.0 and 65 degrees C, respectively, for artificial substrate pNPalphaGal. alpha-Galactosidase from A. terreus (GR) is found to be thermostable, as it was not inactivated after heating at 65 degrees C for 40 min. The K (m) for pNPalphaGal, oNPalphaGal, raffinose, and stachyose are 0.1, 0.28, 0.42, and 0.33 mM, respectively. Inhibitors such as 1,10-phenanthroline, phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, mercaptoethanol, and urea have no effect, whereas N-bromosuccinamide inhibited enzyme activity by 100%. Among metal ions tested, Mg(2+), Ni(2+), Ca(2+), Co(2+), and Mn(2+) had no effect on enzyme activity, but Ag(+), Hg(2+), and Cu(2+) have inhibited complete activity.

Alpha-galactosidase and invertase were accumulated in a coherent middle phase in a three-phase partitioning system under different conditions (ammonium sulphate, ratio of tert-butanol to crude extract, temperature and pH). Alpha-galactosidase and invertase were purified 15- and 12-fold with 50 and 54% activity recovery, respectively. The fractions of interfacial precipitate arising from the three-phase partitioning were analyzed by SDS-PAGE. Both purified preparations showed electrophoretic homogeneity on SDS-PAGE.

Raffinose oligosaccharides (RO) are the major factors responsible for flatulence following ingestion of soybean-derived products. Removal of RO from seeds or soymilk would then have a positive impact on the acceptance of soy-based foods. In this study, a-galactosidase from Aspergillus oryzae was entrapped in gelatin using formaldehyde as the hardener. The immobilization yield was 64.3% under the optimum conditions of immobilization. The immobilized a-galactosidase showed a shift in optimum pH from 4.8 to 5.4 in acetate buffer. The optimum temperature also shifted from 50°C to 57°C compared with soluble enzyme. Immobilized a-galactosidase was used in batch, repeated batch and continuous mode to degrade RO present in soymilk. In the repeated batch, 45% reduction of RO was obtained in the fourth cycle. The performance of immobilized a-galactosidase was tested in a fluidized bed reactor at different flow rates and 86% reduction of RO in soymilk was obtained at 25 ml h -1 flow rate. The study revealed that immobilized a-galactosidase in continuous mode is efficient in reduction of RO present in soymilk.

Optimization of immobilization process on crab shell chitosan was carried out. The chitosan purified from the crab shell was used as the matrix for the immobilization of α‐galactosidase. The prepared matrix was activated with glutaraldehyde at different concentrations and different time intervals and coupling time was determined. Immobilization of α‐galactosidase on crab shell chitosan resulted in 72% immobilization yield. The parameters like the effect of pH, temperature, thermal stability and storage stability were determined. The study revealed that immobilized enzyme shows better thermal and storage stability than the free enzyme. The performance of the free and immobilized α‐galactosidase was tested in continuous stirred batch reactor to hydrolyze raffinose family oligosaccharides in soymilk. The oligosaccharide content of the soymilk was reduced by 77% in continuous reaction by immobilized α‐galactosidase. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Chitosan used for the immobilization of α‐galactosidase offers several advantages for enzyme immobilization and it contains all characteristic features for use as industrial material. Immobilization of one of the industrial important enzyme α‐galactosidase, as it has many potential application in hydrolyzing raffinose series of oligosaccharides. The hydrolyzed soymilk after processing by immobilized α‐galactosidase is free from flatus‐inducing factors like raffinose and stachyose. It can be used as an alternative means for cow's milk for lactose intolerance, particularly among individuals in developing countries. As chitosan used is from the crustacean waste from the crab shell, the production and utilization of chitosan provides an economical alternative means of crustacean shell waste disposal sought worldwide.