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A review on xylooligosaccharides

Article  in  International Research Journal of Pharmacy · August 2012

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INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH JOURNAL OF PHARMACY
www.irjponline.com ISSN 2230 – 8407
Review Article

A REVIEW ON XYLOOLIGOSACCHARIDES
Gupta Praveen Kumar*, Agrawal Pushpa, Hegde Prabha
Department of Biotechnology, R.V College of Engineering Bangalore-560059 India
Article Received on: 18/05/12 Revised on: 29/06/12 Approved for publication: 17/07/12

*Email: [email protected]
ABSTRACT:
Xylan is an important structural component of plant biomass left in agricultural wastes. It is the most abundant of all of the hemicellulosic materials in the
world. A number of economically valuable products such as xylose and xylitol can be made from Xylan, but one category of emerging importance is
Xylooligosaccharides (XOS). Xylans are present not only in wood but also in various other plants such as grasses, cereals, and herbs. They constitute 5-35% of
the dry tissues of lignocellulosic materials and occur up to 50% in some cereal grains. Non-digestible oligosaccharides are low molecular weight carbohydrates
of intermediate in nature between simple sugars and polysaccharides. They can be obtained by direct extraction from natural sources or produced by chemical
processes hydrolyzing polysaccharides or by enzymatic and chemical synthesis from disaccharides. XOS have great prebiotic potential and can be
incorporated into many food products. XOS seem to exert their nutritional benefits in various animal species, which by definition have an intestinal tract
populated by a complex, bacterial intestinal ecosystem.
KEYWORDS: Lignocellulosic materials, xylan, xylooligosaccharides, prebiotic, bifidobacteria.

INTRODUCTION: potential to improve the quality of many foods. It has been

Diet is an important determinant of disease risk in all reported that these have various physiological functions.1,4
population groups. There is emerging evidence that Different types of oligosaccharides along with their sources
functional food ingredients can have an impact on a number are given in Table.
of gut-related diseases and dysfunctions associated with
changing lifestyle and age. The words of Thomas Alva Table: Dietary oligosaccharide with their natural sources and industrial
Edison “The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but production processes (adapted from Murphy, 2001).
Types of Natural Industrial Production
will have interest in the care of the human frame, in diet and Oligosaccharides Occurrence Process
in the cause and prevention of disease” are relevant in the Lactulose Cow milk Isomerization of
present scenario where each individual desires to live longer lactose
in a healthy manner1. The importance of the colonic Lactosucrose, Beet Extraction and
glycosucrose transglycosylation of
microbiota in human health and well-being is a major sucrose
breakthrough in both medical and nutrition research. The Xylooligosaccharide Soyabean Hydrolysis of
symbiosis between prokaryotes and the colon is increasingly polyxylans
recognized as a major player in health and well-being and to Stacchyose, raffinose Beet, soyabean Synthesis from starch
achieve this, the concept of prebiotics has been suggested.2 Fructooligosaccharide Fruits, Synthesis and
vegetables extraction from
Prebiotics are nutrients that have the potential to considerably saccharose
influence the physiology of whole body and, consequently, Galactooligosaccharide Human milk, Enzymatic synthesis
health, and well-being.3 However, because prebiotics cow milk from lactose
specifically and selectively affect the gut microflora, their
importance is likely to become greater and greater. As Xylooligosaccharides are sugar oligomers made up of xylose
biomedical research progresses, it is proposed to go further units. These are naturally present in fruits, vegetables,
and to classify a “prebiotic” as an essential, specific colonic bamboo, honey and milk and can be produced at industrial
nutrient. Xylooligosaccharides (XOS) are relatively new type scale from xylan-rich materials. Of particular interest are
of oligomers which have gained a lot of interest because of those sources of residual origin, such as forestal, agricultural
many technological and health benefits and lot of research is or industrial wastes of lignocellulosic nature. Processing of
going on to explore their dietary and physiological roles.2,3 residual vegetable biomass as raw material offers economic
OLIGOSACCHARIDES: Oligosaccharides are an and ecological benefits, since it is a biorenewable, widely
important group of polymeric carbohydrates that are found distributed and abundant resource The growing commercial
either in free or combined forms in all living organisms. importance of these non digestible oligosaccharides is based
According to the IUB-IUPAC nomenclature, on their beneficial health properties, particularly the prebiotic
oligosaccharides may be defined as oligomers which are activity.6,7
composed of 2–10 monosaccharide residues structurally PROPERTIES OF XYLOOLIGOSACCHARIDES:8,9
linked by glycosidic bonds that are readily hydrolyzed to Physico-chemical property: Sweetness, bitterness,
their constituent monosaccharides either by acids or specific hygroscopically, reinforcement agent for drinks, stabilizing
enzymes.4 They are found naturally in fruits, vegetables, milk agents of active substances etc. They are stable over a wide
and honey. Most oligosaccharides have a mild sweet taste range of pH and temperatures and have organoleptic
and the mouth-feel they lend to food that has drawn the characteristics suitable for incorporation into foods.
interest of the food industry to use them as a partial substitute Biological property: Digestibility, non-digestibility, non-
for fats and sugars in foods. Moreover, oligosaccharides can carcinogenicity, bacteriostatic action, selective proliferation
be used as functional food ingredients that have a great of bifidobacteria, improvement of serum lipids and blood,
glucose etc. Moreover it also shows activity as enzyme

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 Gupta Praveen Kumar et al. IRJP 2012, 3 (8)
inhibitors. XOS favor the selective growth of bifidobacterium III. Autohydrolysis: Hydrolytic treatments based on
spp, which have important biological effects since they; aqueous/steam processing and chemical and/or enzymatic
i) suppress the activity of entero putrefactive and pathogenic hydrolysis. The combined chemical and enzymatic
intestinal bacteria due to the production of short chain extraction of XOS is performed in two stages i.e. the xylan
fatty acids. extraction from LCM and enzymatic hydrolysis of that xylan
ii) facilitate the absorption of nutrients. into xylooligomers. Isolation or solublization of xylan
Xylooligosaccharides are advantageous over other through chemical fractionation and enzymatic hydrolysis.
nondigestible oligosaccharides in terms of both health and The xylan fraction is usually treated with low concentrated
technological related properties. However, the comparatively solutions and mild conditions. This can be obtained by
high production costs require further development of treatment of the LCM with dilute acids alkali (i.e. solutions
processing and purification technologies. of ammonia, Ca(OH)2, NaOH, KOH or mixture of any of
CHEMISTRY OF XYLOOLIGOSACCHARIDES: these), the stable pH of xylan supporting this treatment.9,10,11
Depending upon various xylan sources used for XOS Feed stock material can be pretreated with oxidizing agents,
production, the structures of XOS vary in degree of alcohols or salts to remove lignin/pectic substances
polymerization (DP), monomeric units and types of linkages. depending upon the nature of material. From the alkali
Generally, XOS are mixtures of oligosaccharides formed by treated LCM, recovery of degraded hemicellulosic
xylose residues linked through β-(1→4)-linkages. The byproducts can be made by precipitation with organic
number of xylose residues involved in their formation can compounds. Further degradation of isolated xylan can be
vary from 2 to 10 and they are known as xylobiose, achieved by hydrolysis with xylanases, which can be added
xylotriose, and so on. For food applications, xylobiose (DP = directly to the reaction media, immobilized, or may be
2) is considered to be a xylooligosaccharide. In addition to produced in situ by microorganisms. The xylanases play a
xylose residues, xylan is usually found in combination with key role in xylan hydrolysis to XOS.16
other side groups such as α-D-glucopyranosyluronic acid or Purification of Xylooligosaccharides:17,18
its 4-O-methyl derivative, acetyl groups, or arabinofuranosyl APPLICATIONS: The growing demand of functional foods
residues. The presence of these side groups results in and the potential for products development open promising
branched XOS with diverse biological properties.9,10,11 markets for xylooligosaccharides in many fields, including
BASIC STRUCTURES OF food and feed, agricultural and pharmaceuticals applications.
XYLOOLIGOSACCHARIDES:12 Food Applications: Among the main use of
oligosaccharides, these are used in beverages including fruit
drinks, coffee, cocoa, tea, soda, health drinks and alcoholic
beverages and milk products e.g. instant powders, powdered
milk and ice cream, fermented milks. Further, existing uses in
the food industry take in desserts such as jellies, puddings
and sherbets; confectionary products such as candy, cookies,
biscuits, breakfast cereals; chocolate and sweets; breads and
pastries; table spreads such as jams and marmalades; and
meat products such as fish paste.5,6,10
Agricultural and feed Applications: It is used as yield
enhancer, ripening agent, growth stimulator and accelerator
and Feed for pets and fishes. Xylooligosaccharides can be
PRODUCTION OF XYLOOLIGOSACCHARIDES: used as ingredients of functional foods, cosmetics,
LCM affluent in xylan, such as agriculture residues pharmaceuticals or agricultural products.6,7
(corncobs, bagasse, cornstalks, sunflower, rice hulls and High selective proliferation of bifidobacterium : Its effect
almond shells), hardwoods, and algae can effectively be used is 20 times of other polymer sugars; it can hardly be digested
to produce xylooligomers through fractionation processes.13 and absorbed, but directly enters large intestine and is
There have been a number of approaches divulged for preferably utilized by bifidobacterium to proliferate
fractionation of LCM mainly:14,15 beneficial bacterium for human body and inhibit growth and
I. Isolation or solublization of xylan through chemical proliferation of other harmful bacterium.19,20
fractionation and enzymatic hydrolysis Pharmaceutical Applications: Xylooligosaccharides have
II. Direct enzymatic hydrolysis of xylan rich material been reported for having the immunomodulatory activity,
anti-cancerous activity, anti-microbial activity, growth
regulator activity and other biological activity like
antioxidant, ant-allergic, anti-inflammatory,
antihyperlipidaemic activity and cosmetics and variety of
other properties. It is also used in preparation of micro or
nanoparticles and hydrogels for drug delivery and treatment
and prevention of gastrointestinal disorders.9,23
Other health benefits: these have non-carcinogenic
properties and save insulin secretion from the pancreas, thus
stimulating intestinal mineral absorption.
Xylooligosaccharides as these oligosaccharides are mildly
laxative by stimulation of bacterial growth and fermentation.
Figure 1:15 Hydrolysis of xylan to xylooligosaccharides and xylose by The xylooligosaccharide intake has been reported as highly
different enzymes effective for reducing severe constipation in pregnant women
without any adverse effects. Nutritional formula for infants
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 Gupta Praveen Kumar et al. IRJP 2012, 3 (8)
comprising xylooligosaccharides has been claimed to barrier maturation. XOS can be mixed with other prebiotics
improve gut barrier maturation and provides synergistic to achieve synergistic effects or make part of synbiotic
effects all along the intestinal tract. Nutritional infant preparations together with probiotic microorganisms. Recent
formulae containing XOS have been claimed to have patents have been issued on this latter topic.21,22,23
synergistic effects all along the intestinal tract, improving gut

Figure 2: Steps involved in purification of xylooligosaccharides

Figure 3: A systematic diagram on different application of xylooligosaccharides

ECONOMIC AND MARKET CONSIDERATIONS: other experimental models as well as in clinical trials before
XOS offer an array of other dietary benefits to consumers XOS can be recommended as nontoxic and easily applicable
including fiber-like properties, reducing cholesterol, adjuvants for cancer therapy without any additional risk for
improving uptake of calcium, and acting as antioxidants. the patients. The properties of XOS offer a new dimension
With an estimated market price of $22/kg in 2004, there is for the development of functional foods.6,10 One approach
potential to create some economic value from agricultural that may be encouraged for future research is the combination
waste.22,23 of prebiotics and probiotics (as synbiotics). Opportunities
CONCLUSIONS: exist in exploring the improved knowledge of the synbiotic
Available experimental evidence supports the hypothesis that relationships between colonic microbiota, XOS, and whole
XOS and other prebiotics can offer an opportunity to prevent body physiopathology.
or mitigate gastrointestinal disorders. Even though XOS have great potential as agents to maintain and improve a
encouraging results have been obtained for other prebiotics in balanced intestinal microflora for enhanced health and well-
preliminary clinical trials, the data on XOS are limited.19,20 being. XOS can be incorporated into many food products.5,6
More investigations are required to further elucidate the There are however, several questions that still need to be
mechanisms involved in the reduction of cancer risk and in answered. The observations made in this review and
the cancer chemo- and/or radiotherapy-potentiating effects of published information on nutritional, physiological, and
XOS.21,22,23 However, these effects need to be confirmed in microbial benefits of XOS give a distinct direction to future

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 Gupta Praveen Kumar et al. IRJP 2012, 3 (8)
research. Furthermore, the challenge of the future 11. Schmidt Andrea, Gübitz Georg M, Kratky Christoph. Xylan Binding
Subsite Mapping in the Xylanase from Penicillium simplicissimum using
exploitation of these benefits into authentic health issues Xylooligosaccharides as Cryo-Protectant. Biochemistry. 1999; 38: 2403-
remains a challenge 2412.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: 12. Montane D, Nabarlatz D, Martorell A, Torne-Fernandez V, Fierro V.
The authors wish to express their appreciation to Dr B.S. Removal of lignin and associated impurities from xylooligosaccharides
Satyanarayana, Principal RVCE and Dr S Mahesh Head by activated carbon adsorption. Indust Engineer Chem Res. 2006;
45:2294–302
Department of Biotechnology RVCE Bangalore for granting 13. Izumi Yoshiya, Sugiura Jun, Kagawa Hitoshi, Azumi Naoya: Process for
permission for this research. producing xylooligosaccharide from lignocellulose pulp. United States
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