The lacZ gene from Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus DSM 20081, encoding a β-galactosidase of the glycoside hydrolase family GH2, was cloned into different inducible lactobacillal expression vectors for overexpression in the host strain Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1. High expression levels were obtained in laboratory cultivations with yields of approximately 53000 U of β-galactosidase activity per liter of medium, which corresponds to ∼170 mg of recombinant protein per liter and β-galactosidase levels amounting to 63% of the total intracellular protein of the host organism. The wild-type (nontagged) and histidine-tagged recombinant enzymes were purified to electrophoretic homogeneity and further characterized. β-Galactosidase from L. bulgaricus was used for lactose conversion and showed very high transgalactosylation activity. The maximum yield of galacto-oligosaccharides (GalOS) was approximately 50% when using an initial concentration of 600 mM lactose, indicating that the enzyme can be of interest for the production of GalOS.

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMO) are prominent among the functional components of human breast milk. While HMO have potential applications in both infants and adults, this potential is limited by the difficulties in manufacturing these complex structures. Consequently, functional alternatives such as galacto-oligosaccharides are under investigation, and nowadays, infant formulae are supplemented with galacto-oligosaccharides to mimic the biological effects of HMO. Recently, approaches toward the production of defined human milk oligosaccharide structures using microbial, fermentative methods employing single, appropriately engineered microorganisms were introduced. Furthermore, galactose-containing hetero-oligosaccharides have attracted an increasing amount of attention because they are structurally more closely related to HMO. The synthesis of these novel oligosaccharides, which resemble the core of HMO, is of great interest for applications in the food industry.

Two β-galactosidases, β-gal I and β-gal II, from Bifidobacterium breve DSM 20213, which was isolated from the intestine of an infant, were overexpressed in Escherichia coli with co-expression of the chaperones GroEL/GroES, purified to electrophoretic homogeneity and biochemically characterized. Both β-gal I and β-gal II belong to glycoside hydrolase family 2 and are homodimers with native molecular masses of 220 and 211 kDa, respectively. The optimum pH and temperature for hydrolysis of the two substrates o-nitrophenyl-β-D-galactopyranoside (oNPG) and lactose were determined at pH 7.0 and 50°C for β-gal I, and at pH 6.5 and 55°C for β-gal II, respectively. The k cat/K m values for oNPG and lactose hydrolysis are 722 and 7.4 mM−1s−1 for β-gal I, and 543 and 25 mM−1s−1 for β-gal II. Both β-gal I and β-gal II are only moderately inhibited by their reaction products D-galactose and D-glucose. Both enzymes were found to be very well suited for the production of galacto-oligosaccharides with total GOS yields of 33% and 44% of total sugars obtained with β-gal I and β-gal II, respectively. The predominant transgalactosylation products are β-D-Galp-(1→6)-D-Glc (allolactose) and β-D-Galp-(1→3)-D-Lac, accounting together for more than 75% and 65% of the GOS formed by transgalactosylation by β-gal I and β-gal II, respectively, indicating that both enzymes have a propensity to synthesize β-(1→6) and β-(1→3)-linked GOS. The resulting GOS mixtures contained relatively high fractions of allolactose, which results from the fact that glucose is a far better acceptor for galactosyl transfer than galactose and lactose, and intramolecular transgalactosylation contributes significantly to the formation of this disaccharide.

BACKGROUND: Ludwigia hyssopifolia (G. Don) Exell, one of the problem weeds in some rice-producing countries, was studied to determine its allelopathic potential based on the effects of aqueous extracts of its tissues (leaves, roots and stem) on seedling growth of selected weeds and rice. The major phenolic compound of its leaves was also isolated and characterized. RESULTS: L. hyssopifolia aqueous leaf extract showed significant inhibition of shoot growth and biomass accumulation of weeds (Amaranthus spinosus L., Dactyloctenium aegyptium L., Cyperus iria L.) while maintaining less adverse effects on rice (crop) compared to other aqueous extracts of roots and stem. Phytochemical screening showed that phenols, tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids, saponins and coumarins are found in its leaf aqueous extract. The Folin-Ciocalteu method revealed that its leaves contain 26.66 ± 0.30 mg GAE g −1 leaf. The extract was then acid-hydrolyzed to liberate the phenolics (25 mg phenolics g −1 leaf). The major compound was isolated via preparative thin-layer chromatography using formic acid-ethyl acetate-n-hexane (0.05:4:6) solvent system. It had maximum UV absorption at 272 nm while its Fourier transform infrared spectrum revealed phenol, carboxylic acid and ether functionalities. This also had similar chromatographic mobility when run together with syringic acid in two-dimensional paper chromatography and thin-layer chromatography. CONCLUSIONS: L. hyssopifolia has potential allelopathic activity and its leaf aqueous extract showed the highest phytotoxic activity (P ≤ 0.05) indicating its potential as a bioherbicide. The most probable identity of the major phenolic compound is syringic acid.

The β-galactosidases from Lactobacillus reuteri L103 (Lreuβgal), Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus DSM 20081 (Lbulβgal), and Bifidobacterium breve DSM 20281 (Bbreβgal-I and Bbreβgal-II) were investigated in detail with respect to their propensity to transfer galactosyl moieties onto lactose, its hydrolysis products d-glucose and d-galactose, and certain sugar acceptors such as N-acetyl-d-glucosamine (GlcNAc), N-acetyl-d-galactosamine (GalNAc), and l-fucose (Fuc) under defined, initial velocity conditions. The rate constants or partitioning ratios (kNu/kwater) determined for these different acceptors (termed nucleophiles, Nu) were used as a measure for the ability of a certain substance to act as a galactosyl acceptor of these β-galactosidases. When using Lbulβgal or Bbreβgal-II, the galactosyl transfer to GlcNAc was 6 and 10 times higher than that to lactose, respectively. With lactose and GlcNAc used in equimolar substrate concentrations, Lbulβgal and Bbreβgal-II catalyzed the formation of N-acetyl-allolactosamine with the highest yields of 41 and 24%, respectively, as calculated from the initial GlcNAc concentration.

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In this study, charred cacao shells were tested for their capability as bioadsorbent for aqueous potassium permanganate. Optimization of adsorption parameters showed that the best amount of adsorbent is 0.5% w of cacao biochar/v of 0.005 N aqueous KMnO4 with a removal efficiency of 98.79%, and the optimum particle size is 212 mm, with a corresponding removal efficiency of 99.76%. Kinetics studies showed that the adsorption fits a pseudo-first order reaction with R2 = 0.9833. Lastly, the adsorption data fits the Elovich isotherm with R2 = 0.9712, which strongly suggests a multi-layer chemisorption on a heterogenous surface. Conclusively, the charred cacao shells were found to be effective as an adsorbent of aqueous potassium permanganate. Furthermore, the resulting product of adsorption can be used to study adsorption of other substances due to its multi-layer nature.