Food waste (FW) causes serious environmental
problems owing to
the emission of large amounts of greenhouse gases during its degradation
in landfills. FW recycling to reduce the negative impact of FW on
the global ecosystem has thus received considerable attention. In
this study, we attempted to recycle waste cooked rice (WCR), a substantial
part of FW in Asian countries, via valorization into the high value-added
chemical, maltobionic acid (MBA), using a biocatalytic method. First,
WCR was converted into maltose using commercial maltogenic amylase.
To achieve efficient maltose production, various parameters, such
as the type of maltogenic amylase, reaction temperature, treated WCR
amount, and maltogenic amylase amount, were optimized. Using the optimized
reaction conditions, 160.5 g/L maltose was produced from 1000 g/L
WCR. Thereafter, we produced MBA from the prepared maltose by fermentation
with recombinant Pseudomonas taetrolens, homologously
expressing quinoprotein glucose dehydrogenase, a strain with a good
MBA-producing ability. Based on the results, this strain could produce
168.0 g/L MBA from 160.5 g/L maltose derived from WCR, with a productivity
of 5.7 g/L/h. Overall, we developed an eco-friendly method for the
valorization of WCR into MBA for the first time using a maltogenic
enzyme and an MBA-producing strain, which enables economically feasible
MBA production. This method provides a novel approach for reducing
the environmental problems associated with WCR.