Biological activities of some Xylooligosaccharides from Lignocellulosic wastes

Abstract

Xylooligosaccharides (XOS's) exhibited considerable biological activities and be incorporated into many food products and in pharmaceutical and drug industry. XOS's were produced from xylose-containing polysaccharides (XPS's) obtained from natural, xylan-rich, agro-industrial wastes, i.e., corncobs and sugarcane bagasse. The yields of XPS's were 32.10% and 27.20% from corncobs and sugarcane bagasse, respectively. The preparation of XOS's was done by partial hydrolysis of XPS's obtained from corncobs and sugarcane bagasse, either chemically by oxalic acid (0.25N) or by fungal attack by Aspergillus niger and by Trichoderma reesei. The partial hydrolysis of XPS's; resulted in production of (8) mixtures comprising total of (18) individual oligosaccharides. This was followed by evaluation of their biological activities, including their prebiotic, anticoagulant and fibrinolytic actions. The results showed that the tested XOS-mixtures enhanced the growth of the probiotic bacteria. This indicates that the studied XOS's can be considered as promising prebiotics. Additionally, the tested XOS's showed very low anticoagulant effect, and for fibrinolytic activity ranged between, moderate to very low activity.