Elsevier

Bioresource Technology

Volume 273, February 2019, Pages 641-653
Bioresource Technology

Review
Biotechnological applications of inulin-rich feedstocks

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2018.11.031Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Potent inulin-rich feedstocks have been described.

  • The potential of inulin-rich feedstocks for biotechnological applications has been discussed.

  • High fructose syrup, fructooligosaccharides and inulinases production from inulin-rich substrates has been described.

  • Biofuels, organic acids and various other metabolites production from inulin-rich feedstocks has also been highlightened.

Abstract

Inulin is a naturally occurring second largest storage polysaccharide with a wide range of applications in pharmaceutical and food industries. It is a robust polysaccharide which consists of a linear chain of β-2, 1-linked-d-fructofuranose molecules terminated with α-d-glucose moiety at the reducing end. It is present in tubers, bulbs and tuberous roots of more than 36,000 plants belonging to both monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous families. Jerusalem artichoke, chicory, dahlia, asparagus, etc. are important inulin-rich plants. Inulin is a potent substrate and inducer for the production of inulinases. Inulin/inulin-rich feedstocks can be used for the production of fructooligosaccharides and high-fructose syrup. Additionally, inulin-rich feedstocks can also be exploited for the production of other industrially important products like acetone, butanol, bioethanol, single cell proteins, single cell oils, 2, 3-butanediol, sorbitol, mannitol, etc. Current review highlights the biotechnological potential of inulin-rich feedstocks for the production of various industrially important products.

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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