Enzymatic Production of Xylo-oligosaccharides from Destarched Wheat Bran and the Impact of Their Degree of Polymerization and Substituents on Their Utilization as a Carbon Source by Probiotic Bacteria
Abstract
The enzymatic production of xylo-oligosaccharides (XOs) from destarched wheat bran with a GH11 xylanase was
studied. Xylo-oligosaccharides (XOs) produced were separated into different fractions according to their degree of polymerization
(DP) and the nature of their substituents: arabinoxylo-oligosaccharides (AXOs) with a DP from 2 to 3 and DP from 2 to 6 and
feruloylated arabinoxylo-oligosaccharides (FAXOs) esterified by ferulic and p-coumaric acids with a DP from 3 to 6. Both AXOs
(short and long DP) and FAXOs stimulated the growth of Bifidobacterium adolescentis, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, and Prevotella
copri similarly but not Lactobacillus rhamnosus. The utilization of AXOs and FAXOs as a carbon source resulted in the increase in
turbidity, decrease in pH, and production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the culture broth. The highest amount of SCFAs was
produced by F. prausnitzii using FAXOs. Results suggest that FAXOs and AXOs have the potential to be considered as prebiotics.