<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Arabitol is a polyalcohol which has about 70% of the sweetness of sucrose and an energy density of 0.2 kcal/g. Similarly to xylitol, it can be used in the food and pharmaceutical industries as a natural sweetener, a texturing agent, a dental caries reducer, and a humectant. Biotechnological production of arabitol from sugars represents an interesting alternative to chemical production. The yeast <italic>Scheffersomyces shehatae</italic> strain 20BM-3 isolated from rotten wood was screened for its ability to produce arabitol from L-arabinose, glucose, and xylose. This isolate, cultured at 28°C and 150 rpm, secreted 4.03 ± 0.00 to 7.97 ± 0.67 g/l of arabitol from 17–30 g/l of L-arabinose assimilated from a medium containing 20–80 g/l of this pentose with yields of 0.24 ± 0.00 to 0.36 ± 0.02 g/g. An optimization study demonstrated that pH 4.0, 32°C, and a shaking frequency of 150 rpm were the optimum conditions for arabitol production by the investigated strain. Under these conditions, strain 20BM-3 produced 6.2 ± 0.17 g/l of arabitol from 17.5 g/l of arabinose after 4 days with a yield of 0.35 ± 0.01 g/g. This strain also produced arabitol from glucose, giving much lower yields, but did not produce it from xylose. The new strain can be successfully used for arabitol production from abundantly available sugars found in plant biomass.</p>
</abstract>

Arabitol is a polyalcohol which has about 70% of the sweetness of sucrose and an energy density of 0.2 kcal/g. Similarly to xylitol, it can be used in the food and pharmaceutical industries as a natural sweetener, a texturing agent, a dental caries reducer, and a humectant. Biotechnological production of arabitol from sugars represents an interesting alternative to chemical production. The yeast Scheffersomyces shehatae strain 20BM-3 isolated from rotten wood was screened for its ability to produce arabitol from L-arabinose, glucose, and xylose. This isolate, cultured at 28°C and 150 rpm, secreted 4.03 ± 0.00 to 7.97 ± 0.67 g/l of arabitol from 17–30 g/l of L-arabinose assimilated from a medium containing 20–80 g/l of this pentose with yields of 0.24 ± 0.00 to 0.36 ± 0.02 g/g. An optimization study demonstrated that pH 4.0, 32°C, and a shaking frequency of 150 rpm were the optimum conditions for arabitol production by the investigated strain. Under these conditions, strain 20BM-3 produced 6.2 ± 0.17 g/l of arabitol from 17.5 g/l of arabinose after 4 days with a yield of 0.35 ± 0.01 g/g. This strain also produced arabitol from glucose, giving much lower yields, but did not produce it from xylose. The new strain can be successfully used for arabitol production from abundantly available sugars found in plant biomass.

The Ability of a Novel Strain <italic>Scheffersomyces</italic> (Syn. <italic>Candida</italic>) <italic>shehatae</italic> Isolated from Rotten Wood to Produce Arabitol

Human Nutrition and Science of Food Commodities

Laboratory of Molecular and Environmental Microbiology

Polish Journal of Microbiology

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The Ability of a Novel Strain  (Syn. )  Isolated from Rotten Wood to Produce Arabitol

Arabitol is a polyalcohol which has about 70% of the sweetness of sucrose and an energy density of 0.2 kcal/g. Similarly to xylitol, it can be used in the food...

The Ability of a Novel Strain Scheffersomyces (Syn. Candida) shehatae Isolated from Rotten Wood to Produce Arabitol

Published Online: Sep 27, 2017

Page range: 335 - 343

Received: Dec 21, 2016

Accepted: May 30, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0010.4863

Keywords
arabitol production, biotechnological process optimization, biotransformation, yeast identification

© 2017 MONIKA KORDOWSKA-WIATER et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The Ability of a Novel Strain Scheffersomyces (Syn. Candida) shehatae Isolated from Rotten Wood to Produce Arabitol

Published Online: Sep 27, 2017

Page range: 335 - 343

Received: Dec 21, 2016

Accepted: May 30, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0010.4863

Keywordsarabitol production, biotechnological process optimization, biotransformation, yeast identification

© 2017 MONIKA KORDOWSKA-WIATER et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
arabitol production, biotechnological process optimization, biotransformation, yeast identification