Molecular structure features and lactic acid fermentation behaviors of water- and alkali-soluble polysaccharides from Dendrobium officinale.

One water-soluble polysaccharide (WDOP) and three alkali-soluble polysaccharides (ADOP1, ADOP2 and ADOP3) were successfully obtained from Dendrobium officinale. Molecular structure of the polysaccharides was analyzed, and in vitro lactic acid fermentation of the polysaccharides by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and bifidobacteria was performed. All the polysaccharides exerted proliferative effect on the LAB and bifidobacteria. ADOP2 was the most effective one, followed by WDOP. This could be attributed to their molecular structure features, such as a high level of total sugar, uronic acid and reducing sugar, an abundance of glucose and mannose, and a low and middle weight-average molecular weight. ADOP2 and WDOP produced more short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) than ADOP1 and ADOP3 did during lactic acid fermentation. Propionic and acetic acids were the main SCFAs produced. These findings are useful for understanding the structure-activity relationship of D. officinale polysaccharides in lactic acid fermentation, and for developing new functional foods and beverages from D. officinale.

Growth characteristics of freeze-tolerant baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae AFY in aerobic batch culture.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae AFY is a novel baker's yeast strain with strong freeze-tolerance, and can be used for frozen-dough processing. The present study armed to clarify the growth characteristics of the yeast AFY. Aerobic batch culture experiments of yeast AFY were carried out using media with various initial glucose concentrations, and the culture process was analyzed kinetically. The growth of the yeast AFY exhibited a diauxic pattern with the first growth stage consuming glucose and the second growth stage consuming ethanol. The cell yield decreased with increasing initial glucose concentration in the first growth stage, and also decreased with increasing initial ethanol concentration in the second growth stage. In the initial glucose concentration range of 5.0-40.0 g/L, the simultaneous equations of Monod equation, Luedeking-Piret equation and pseudo-Luedeking-Piret equation could be used to describe the concentrations of cell, ethanol and glucose in either of the two exponential growth phases. At the initial glucose concentrations of 5.0, 10.0 and 40.0 g/L, the first exponential growth phase had a maximal specific cell growth rate of 0.52, 0.98 and 0.99 h(-1), while the second exponential growth phase had a maximal specific cell growth rate of 0.11, 0.06 and 0.07 h(-1), respectively. It was indicated that the efficiency of the yeast production could be improved by reducing the ethanol production in the first growth stage.

Effective production of S-allyl-L-cysteine through a homogeneous reaction with activated endogenous γ-glutamyltranspeptidase in garlic (Allium Sativum).

S-allyl-L-cysteine (SAC) is a bioactive compound in garlic (Allium sativum). A novel process including soaking and homogeneous reaction was applied for the effective production of SAC with endogenous γ-glutamyltranspeptidase (γ-GTP, EC 2.3.2.2) in garlic. The effects of temperature and CaCl2 concentration on γ-GTP activity in soaking, and the relationship of SAC production with γ-GTP activity in homogeneous reaction were investigated, using fresh garlic as raw material. The experimental results showed that the γ-GTP in fresh garlic was activated by soaking. The yield rate and the final content of SAC increased linearly with increasing initial γ-GTP activity in the homogeneous reaction at 37 °C. The final SAC content reached 606.3 µg/g (i.e. 32 times higher than that in fresh garlic) after soaking for 72 h in a 10-mM CaCl2 solution at 10 °C, and the homogeneous reaction for 8 h at 37 °C. SAC was produced effectively through the homogeneous reaction with activated endogenous γ-GTP in garlic.

Determination of the degree of degradation of frying rapeseed oil using fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy combined with partial least-squares regression.

This rapid method for determining the degree of degradation of frying rapeseed oils uses Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy combined with partial least-squares (PLS) regression. One hundred and fifty-six frying oil samples that degraded to different degrees by frying potatoes were scanned by an FTIR spectrometer using attenuated total reflectance (ATR). PLS regression with full cross validation was used for the prediction of acid value (AV) and total polar compounds (TPC) based on raw, first, and second derivative FTIR spectra (4000-650 cm(-1)). The precise calibration model based on the second derivative FTIR spectra shows that the coefficients of determination for calibration (R (2)) and standard errors of cross validation (SECV) were 0.99 and 0.16 mg KOH/g and 0.98 and 1.17% for AV and TPC, respectively. The accuracy of the calibration model, tested using the validation set, yielded standard errors of prediction (SEP) of 0.16 mg KOH/g and 1.10% for AV and TPC, respectively. Therefore, the degradation of frying oils can be accurately measured using FTIR spectroscopy combined with PLS regression.

Analysis of carbonyl value of frying oil by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.

A rapid method for determining the carbonyl value of frying oils has been developed using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and chemometrics. One hundred and fifty-six frying oils with different carbonyl values were collected from an actual potato frying process. FTIR spectra in the range of 4000-650 cm(-1) were scanned with a FTIR spectroscopy apparatus using the attenuated total reflectance (ATR) method. A good calibration model was obtained using the partial least-squares (PLS) regression method with full cross validation for predicting the carbonyl value of frying oils. For the model, the coefficients of determination (R(2)), standard errors of cross validation (SECV) and standard errors of prediction (SEP) were 0.99, 1.87 µmol g(-1) and 1.93 µmol g(-1), respectively. Moreover, standard deviation ratios of reference data in the validation sample set to the SEP were higher than 3. This study shows that the carbonyl value of frying oils can be successfully determined to a high accuracy using FTIR spectroscopy combined with PLS regression.

The relationship of freeze tolerance with intracellular compounds in baker's yeasts.

Freeze-tolerant baker's yeasts are required for the processing of frozen doughs. The present study was carried out to investigate the cell survival rate after frozen storage and the change of fermentability in dough due to frozen storage, and to discuss quantitatively the relationship of freeze tolerance with intracellular trehalose, amino acids, and glycerol, using six types of baker's yeasts as the test materials. The experimental results showed that the fermentability of yeast cells in frozen dough was strongly correlated with the cell survival rate. The baker's yeast with a higher level of cell survival rate had a larger increase in the total intracellular compound content after frozen storage, and the cell survival rate increased linearly with increasing total intracellular compound content in frozen yeast cells. Trehalose was a primary compound affecting freeze tolerance, followed by glutamic acid, arginine, proline, asparagic acid, and glycerol. The basic information provided by the present study is useful for exploring the freeze-tolerance mechanisms of baker's yeast cells, breeding better freeze-tolerant baker's yeast strains, and developing more effective cryoprotectants.

Kinetic studies on the product inhibition of enzymatic lignocellulose hydrolysis.

In order to understand the product inhibition of enzymatic lignocellulose hydrolysis, the enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated rice straw was carried out over an enzyme loading range of 2 to 30 FPU/g substrate, and the inhibition of enzymatic hydrolysis was analyzed kinetically based on the reducing sugars produced. It was shown that glucose, xylose, and arabinose were the main reducing sugar components contained in the hydrolysate. The mass ratio of glucose, xylose, and arabinose to the total reducing sugars was almost constant at 52.0%, 29.7% and 18.8%, respectively, in the enzyme loading range. The reducing sugars exerted competitive inhibitory interferences to the enzymatic hydrolysis. Glucose, xylose, and arabinose had a dissociation constant of 1.24, 0.54 and 0.33 g/l, respectively. The inhibitory interferences by reducing sugars were superimposed on the enzymatic hydrolysis. The enzymatic hydrolysis could be improved by the removal of the produced reducing sugars from hydrolysate.

Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of acid-pretreated rapeseed meal for succinic acid production using Actinobacillus succinogenes.

Rapeseed meal was evaluated for succinic acid production by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation using Actinobacillus succinogenes ATCC 55618. Diluted sulfuric acid pretreatment and subsequent hydrolysis with pectinase was used to release sugars from rapeseed meal. The effects of culture pH, pectinase loading and yeast extract concentration on succinic acid production were investigated. When simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of diluted acid pretreated rapeseed meal with a dry matter content of 12.5% (w/v) was performed at pH 6.4 and a pectinase loading of 2% (w/w, on dry matter) without supplementation of yeast extract, a succinic acid concentration of 15.5 g/L was obtained at a yield of 12.4 g/100g dry matter. Fed-batch simultaneous saccharification and fermentation was carried out with supplementation of concentrated pretreated rapeseed meal and pectinase at 18 and 28 h to yield a final dry matter content of 20.5% and pectinase loading of 2%, with the succinic acid concentration enhanced to 23.4 g/L at a yield of 11.5 g/100g dry matter and a productivity of 0.33 g/(Lh). This study suggests that rapeseed meal may be an alternative substrate for the efficient production of succinic acid by A. succinogenes without requiring nitrogen source supplementation.

Co-immobilization mechanism of cellulase and xylanase on a reversibly soluble polymer.

Cellulase and xylanase from Trichoderma reesei were immobilized simultaneously on Eudragit L-100, a reversibly soluble polymer. The effects of polymer concentration and polymer precipitation pH on enzyme activity recovery were investigated at an enzyme complex concentration of 1%. The immobilization mechanism of cellulase and xylanase on the polymer was discussed. An activity recovery of 75% and 59% was obtained for the cellulase and the xylanase, respectively, under the condition of a polymer concentration at 2% and a polymer precipitation pH at 4.0. Most zymoproteins might be connected to the polymer by electrostatic attraction in a medium of pH 4.8. In addition, the covalent coupling between the zymoproteins and the polymer was demonstrated by the infrared spectrograms. It was suggested that dehydration-condensation reaction occurred between the zymoproteins and the polymer during the immobilization.

Enhancing the enzymatic hydrolysis of corn stover by an integrated wet-milling and alkali pretreatment.

An integrated wet-milling and alkali pretreatment was applied to corn stover prior to enzymatic hydrolysis. The effects of NaOH concentration in the pretreatment on crystalline structure, chemical composition, and reducing-sugar yield of corn stover were investigated, and the mechanism of increasing reducing-sugar yield by the pretreatment was discussed. The experimental results showed that the crystalline structure of corn stover was disrupted, and lignin was removed, while cellulose and hemicellulose were retained in corn stover by the pretreatment with 1% NaOH in 1 h. The reducing-sugar yield from the pretreated corn stovers increased from 20.2% to 46.7% when the NaOH concentration increased from 0% to 1%. The 1% NaOH pretreated corn stover had a holocellulose conversion of 55.1%. The increase in reducing-sugar yield was related to the crystalline structure disruption and delignification of corn stover. It was clarified that the pretreatment significantly enhanced the conversion of cellulose and hemicellulose in the corn stover to sugars.