ReviewBiotechnological applications of inulin-rich feedstocks
Introduction
Inulin, a naturally occurring polysaccharide belongs to a class of dietary fibres known as fructans. The term fructans is generally used for those compounds in which fructosyl moieties constitute the molecule. Inulin, a peculiar substance was first isolated from Inula helenium by a German scientist, Rose (1804) and later on it was named inulin by Thomson (1817). In nature it is the second most abundant storage polysaccharide. Structurally inulin [α-d-glucopyranosyl-β-d-fructofuranosyl-(n-1)-d-fructofuranoside] is composed of β-d (2 → 1) linked fructosyl oligomer with a glucose moiety at the reducing end. Glucose unit joined by α-d (1 → 2) glycosidic bond is present in pyranose form (4C1 conformation), whereas fructose unit is in the furanose form. Generally, the inulin has a glucose moiety at the reducing end, but in some cases it has only fructose molecules lacking the glucose at the terminal end (Hebette et al., 1998). The unique aspect of the inulin structure is that no bond of its fructose ring is the part of macromolecular backbone (Andre et al., 1996).
Inulin was designated a GRAS (Generally Recognised As Safe) status since 2002, because of its use in food industries including meat and poultry products and also in the baby products. In many countries, inulin-rich plants are used as an essential part of regular diet. An average daily intake of inulin in Western and American diet has been estimated to 1–10 g and 2.5 g, respectively. However in European diet, inulin consumption is relatively higher (3–11 g) per day. Inulin has many health-promoting properties due to which it is considered as a functional food. Owing to its high degree of polymerization (DP), it acts as a potential prebiotic in food processing industries (Singh and Singh, 2010, Singh et al., 2016a). Inulin in combination with FOSs (fructooligosaccharides) is used as a non-digestible dietary fibre which promotes the human gut microbiota by stimulating the growth of bifidobacteria in human intestine that beneficially affects the host’s body. Apart from its prebiotics effect, it is also used in the lipid metabolism, absorption of mineral ions from gut, control of blood sugar level and prevention of obesity, chemically induced aberrant crypts, colon cancer, etc. (Singh and Singh, 2010, Singh et al., 2017a).
A lot of inulin-rich plants are reported from both monocots and dicotyledonous families. Inulin is present in a considerable amount in bulbs, tubers and tuberous roots of many plants like Dahlia pinnata (Dahlia), Taraxacum officinale (Dandelion), Asparagus officinalis (Shatwaar), Helianthus tuberosus (Jerusalem artichoke), Asparagus racemosus (Safed musli), Cichorium intybus (chicory), etc. (Singh and Singh, 2010). Therefore, such inulin-rich feedstocks are of great consideration as they are inexpensive, renewable and abundant substrate for the production of various bioproducts. Inulin-rich plant materials and mixed substrates can be used as potent substrates for various bioprocesses. Inulin-rich feedstocks has been extensively used for the production of high fructose syrup, inulinases, inulooligosaccharides, biofuels, organic acids, single cell oil, single cell proteins, mannitol, sorbitol, 2,3-butanediol, pullulan, etc. The current review highlights the utilization of inulin-rich feedstocks for the production of high fructose syrup, inulinases, fructooligosaccharides, biofuels, organic acids, etc.
Section snippets
Inulin-rich feedstocks and mechanism of inulin synthesis
Inulin is present as a storage carbohydrate in more than 36,000 plants belonging to the families Amaryllidaceae, Asteraceae, Boraginaceae, Campanulaceae, Liliaceae, Malpighiaceae, Poaceae, Primulaceae, Styracaceae, Violaceae, etc. Usually, inulin is stored in tubers, bulbs and tuberous roots of plants (Table 1). In these plant parts, inulin can be easily extracted and processed to a purified product due to the absence of interfering components. Commercially, inulin is produced from tubers of
Bioprocessing strategies for the conversion of inulin-rich feedstocks into microbial products
Inulin-rich feedstocks are the abundant renewable resources which can be exploited for the production of various microbial products like inulinases, high fructose syrup, fructooligosaccharides, biofuels, organic acids, single cell oil, single cell proteins, etc. Inulin, a naturally occurring fructan of plant-origin can be used in its native form for the production of inulinases, high fructose syrup and fructooligosaccharides. It is a very costly substrate, so inulin-rich feedstocks can be used
Biotechnological applications of inulin-rich feedstocks
Various inulin-rich feedstocks have been used for the production of a wide range of bioproducts which are discussed in the following sections:
Conclusion
Inulin-rich feedstocks are abundant and inexpensive renewable raw material for bioprocessing industries. Only a few reports are available on the production of HFS and FOSs from inulin-rich feedstocks at laboratory scale. Therefore, efforts should be made to perform scale-up studies for their production using various inulin-rich feedstocks. Saccharification of inulin-rich feedstocks is a major hindrance for their utilization for the production of various microbial products. Scale-up studies
Acknowledgement
This work was sponsored by the French Government Research Program “Investissements d′avenir” through the IMobS3 Laboratory of Excellence (ANR-10-LABX-16-01).
Conflict of interest
Authors have no conflict of interests.
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