Inulin Potential for Enzymatic Obtaining of Prebiotic Oligosaccharides

Abstract

Oligosaccharides have been marketed since the 80s as low-calorie agents and recently have gained interest in the pharmaceutical and food industry as functional sweeteners and prebiotic enriching population of Bifidobacteria. Currently, they have an approximated value of $200 per kg and recently, inulin has been proposed as a feedstock for production of oligosaccharides through selective hydrolysis by action of endoinulinase. High optimum temperature (60°C) and thermostability are two important criteria that determine suitability of this enzyme for industrial applications as well as enzyme cost, a major limiting factor. Significant reduction in cost can be achieved by employing low-value and abundant inulin-rich plants as Jerusalem artichoke, dahlia, yacon, garlic, and onion, among others. In general, the early harvested tubers of these plants contain a greater amount of highly polymerized sugar fractions, which offer more industrial value than late-harvested tubers or those after storage. Also, development of recombinant microorganisms could be useful to reduce the cost of enzyme technology for large-scale production of oligosaccharides. In the case of fungal inulinases, several studies of cloning and modification have been made to achieve greater efficiency. The present paper reviews inulin from vegetable sources as feedstock for oligosaccharides production through the action of inulinases, the impact of polymerization degree of inulin and its availability, and some strategies to increase oligosaccharide production.

Correlation between Fructan Exohydrolase Activity and the Quality of Helianthus tuberosus L. Tubers

“…Moreover, the degree of polymerization also influences the digestibility and prebiotic activity of inulin. For example, in the food industry, inulin with variable DP is required for the formulation of food products with specific properties [6,9,29]. Our study shows that the degree of polymerization of inulin and the content of sugars are related to the enzymatic activity of FEH as one of key enzymes in inulin metabolism.…”

In Silico evaluation and identification of fungi capable of producing endo-inulinase enzyme

“…Endo-inulinase is the enzyme that degrades inulin into short chain FOS that are established as potential prebiotics with health promoting benefits. Although the raw materials for inulin production are inexpensive and readily available from different plant sources, commercial production of FOS from inulin is limited due to inadequate availability of the enzyme [ 48 , 49 ]. In the current study, attempt was made to identify fungi capable of producing endo-inulinase enzyme based on the in silico analysis of non-redundant protein sequence database.…”

Technological Aspects of the Production of Fructo and Galacto-Oligosaccharides. Enzymatic Synthesis and Hydrolysis

“…The high cost of the enzymes increases the overall cost of this process (85). This has been partially overcome through genetic engineering and molecular biology techniques, many modified enzymes with enhanced properties compared to their natural counterparts have been obtained (86–88).…”