Production of manno-oligosaccharides (MOSs) from pretreated and defatted copra meal (dFCO) hydrolysis was achieved by endo-mannanase. Structural characterization of dFCO by FT-IR and NMR exhibited resemblance with galactomannan. The time-dependent hydrolysis of dFCO by recombinant endo-β-(1 → 4)-mannanase of Clostridium thermocellum by TLC and HPAEC displayed the release of mannose and MOSs mannobiose and mannotriose. Purified MOSs yielded 40 % mannobiose and 18 % mannotriose confirmed by mass spectroscopy which showed mannobiose (m/z = 365) and mannotriose (m/z = 527). The homology based structural analysis of catalytic endo-mannanase (CtManT) showed the catalytic core composed of Glu181 and Glu300 acting as acid/base and Glu288 as a nucleophile during galactomannan hydrolysis. Sub-site mapping of CtManT exhibited two aglycone and four glycone sites at cleavage sites existing on either side of β-(1 → 4)-linkage of galactomannan. Isolated MOSs displayed potential prebiotic characteristics and supported higher growth of probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium infantis than with standard inulin. Moreover, MOSs displayed over 97 % tolerance to simulated gastric juice, intestinal fluid, and α-amylase proving its potential as a stable prebiotic over inulin. In vitro cytotoxicity assay of MOSs (500 µg/mL) on human epithelial colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line (HT-29) demonstrated 60 % decreased viability of cells after 48 h displaying anti-tumorigenic property.

A novel strain of lactic acid bacterium isolated from fermented cucumber was selected due to its high glucansucrase activity. It was identified on the basis of 16S rRNA sequence analysis as Pediococcus pentosaceus CRAG3 (GenBank accession number JX679020). The isolate was round shaped, Gram positive, and catalase negative displaying typical features of lactic acid bacterium. It produced 145 ± 3.27 mg lactic acid per ml of cell-free supernatant. It showed ability to ferment carbohydrates such as sucrose, dextrose, and arabinose; showed resistance to antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin, kanamycin, vancomycin; displayed acid production in triple sugar iron agar test and non-motile nature. Interestingly, the isolate also displayed potential probiotic properties such as hydrophobicity, autoaggregation, coaggregation, and in vitro cell adhesion ability. It exhibited resistance against lysozyme and simulated gastric juice at pH 3.0 with 75 and 58% survival, respectively. It also showed tolerance toward 0.3%, w/v bile salts with 73% survival and ability to deconjugate bile salts. The isolate exhibited antibacterial activity and ability to utilize prebiotics such as inulin and raffinose. These results indicate both probiotic property and glucansucrase-producing ability of P. pentosaceus CRAG3.

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Dextran produced from Weissella cibaria JAG8 was purified and characterized. The molecular mass of dextran as determined by the gel filtration and copper bicinchoninate method was approximately, 800 kDa. Monosaccharide analysis revealed that the polysaccharide comprised only glucose units. Dynamic light scattering study confirmed the mono-disperse nature of dextran with hydrodynamic radius of 900 nm. Surface morphology study of dextran by scanning electron microscopy showed the porous web like structure. Cytotoxicity studies on human cervical cancer (HeLa) cell line showed non-toxic and biocompatible nature of dextran. The relative browning for dextran from W. cibaria JAG8 was similar to commercial prebiotic Nutraflora P-95 and 3-fold lower than Raftilose P-95. Synthesis of dextran by dextransucrase treated, sucrose-supplemented skimmed milk revealed the promising potential of dextran as a food additive.