Fungal oxidative and hydrolyzing enzymes as designers in the biological production of dietary fibers from triticale

Abstract

There is an urgent need to increase the daily intake of insoluble dietary fiber, and at the same time to find new sources and new production technologies. We hypothesized that fungal enzymes directly involved in lignocellulosic material hydrolysis (Aspergillus and Trichoderma enzyme cocktails) will change the fiber structure particularly efficiently after the action of laccase (Trametes versicolor enzyme cocktail). Enzymes production on an inducing substrate (same as starting material for obtainment of insoluble dietary fibers) and their usage resulted in obtainment of novel insoluble dietary fibers with better characteristics, 24% higher swelling, 43% higher WRC and 57% higher ORC compared to insoluble dietary fibers from triticale (already proven to be a good food additive). Changes in structure were analyzed by FTIR and microscopic analysis. Antioxidative performance of the obtained products, new insoluble and released soluble dietary fibers, was analyzed in detail. Newly obtained soluble dietary fibers demonstrated up to 20 times higher antioxidant activity compared to untreated fibers (ABTS and DPPH tests). These results suggest their good performance as a future food additive. At the same time, they prove the hypothesis that the use of enzyme cocktails rich in laccase is a good choice for biological pretreatment in this process.