Search

Abstract: Hemicelluloses are types of plant cell wall polysaccharides, and the world''s second most abundant renewable polymers after cellulose in lignocellulosic materials. They represent a type of hetero-polysaccharide with complex structure containing glucose, xylose, mannose, galactose, arabinose, rhamnose, glucuronic acid, and galacturonic acid in various amounts, depending on the source. Hemicelluloses are usually bonded to other cell-wall components such as cellulose, cell-wall proteins, lignin, and phenolic compounds by covalent and hydrogen bonds, and by ionic and hydrophobic interactions. This paper provides a review on hemicelluloses from lignocellulosic materials, especially in regard to their isolation and purification methods, and bioconversion. Current isolation and purification strategies are summarized, including: alkali peroxide extraction, organic solvent extraction, steam explosion, ultrasound-assisted extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, column chromatography, and membrane separation. In addition, the bioconversion of hemicelluloses including pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, and fermentation are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Water and alkali-soluble polysaccharides, isolated by sequential extractions with distilled water, 0.5% and 1% NaOH, 60% ethanol containing 1% NaOH, and 3%, 5% and 8% NaOH, were prepared at 60°C for 3h from dewaxed bamboo Phyllostachys incarnata Wen. The yields of the seven fractions together accounted for 80.1% of total available hemicellulosic polysaccharides. Sugar composition studies showed that the water-soluble polysaccharides consisted mainly of glucose units, while xylose, arabinose and glucuronic acid were the major sugars in alkali-soluble hemicelluloses. Moreover, the molecular weights of these polymers varied between 3760 and 36,000g/mol as revealed by GPC. Furthermore, the structure of the hemicellulosic fraction extracted with 3% NaOH was determined by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy along with 2D HSQC. It was found that the bamboo hemicelluloses were O-acetyl-(4-O-methylglucurono)-arabinoxylans, and the structural element could be identified as below: 1,4-β-D-[2-O-Ac][2,3-di-O-Ac][4-O-Me-α-D-GlcpA-(1→2)][α-L-Araf-(1→2)(1→3)]-xylp. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Caragana korshinskii hemicelluloses were isolated with 10% KOH at 25°C for 10h from the delignified materials. The alkali-extractable hemicelluloses were then successively sub-fractionated by graded precipitation at final ethanol concentrations of 10%, 20%, 30%, 45%, 60%, and 80%, respectively. Neutral sugars and molecular weight analyses of the six hemicellulosic subfractions revealed that the molecular weights and the distribution of branches along the xylan backbone are different among the hemicellulosic fractions obtained in various ethanol concentrations. The less branched hemicelluloses with large molecules were precipitated in lower ethanol percentages, while with the increasing ethanol concentrations, more branched hemicelluloses with low molecular weights were obtained. 1H and 13C NMR studies revealed that the hemicellulosic subfraction precipitated at an ethanol concentration of 45% had a backbone of d-xylose residues and were branched mainly through 4-O-methyl-α-d-glucopyranosyl units. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Hemicelluloses isolated from triploid poplar were subjected to hydrothermal degradation at 180–340 °C. The detailed physicochemical characteristics of hydrothermal degradation products including monosaccharide and XOS, molecular weight, inhibitory and organic compounds were detected by HPAEC, GPC, HPLC, and GC–MS, respectively. An increase in temperature led to a significant decrease in molecular weight and an increase in C 2 –C 5 organic alcohols and acids. More importantly, besides two well-known routes that hemicelluloses are hydrolyzed to monosaccharide, followed by further degraded to furfural, a series of reaction routes was proposed to clarify and explain the mechanisms of the hydrothermal degradation of hemicelluloses from triploid poplar, which involved: (i) a predominant route of fragmentation; (ii) side reactions such as oxidation, dehydration, isomerization/rearrangement, and self-lactonization; (iii) larger molecular fragments from sugars by deoxydation or/and oxidation, followed by self-lactonization; and (iv) very few extensive re-polymerization including esterification and condensation among hemicelluloses and lignin fragments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Xylooligosaccharides (XOS) were prepared from xylan-rich hemicelluloses isolated by potassium hydroxide from sugarcane bagasse by hydrolysis with crude xylanase secreted by Pichia stipitis. Hydrolysis for 12h produced XOS with a maximum yield of 31.8%, equivalent to 5.29mgmL−1 in the hydrolyzate. XOS with degrees of polymerization (DP) from 2 to 4 (xylobiose, xylotriose, and xylotetraose) were the major components in the hydrolysates, whereas the oligosaccharides with higher DP of 5–6 (xylopentaose and xylohexose) showed a constant low level. FT-IR and NMR (1H, 13C, HSQC) demonstrated that XOS contained Araf and 4-O-Me-α-d-GlcpA residues. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay showed that the XOS exhibited concentration-dependent antioxidant activity. The results obtained indicate that the XOS produced from sugarcane bagasse can be employed in food-related applications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Water- and alkali-soluble hemicelluloses isolated from dewaxed sugarcane bagasse were sub-fractionated on DEAE-cellulose-52 chromatography and obtained six hemicellulosic sub-fractions by eluting with water, 0.1M and 0.3M NaCl aqueous solution, respectively. Sugar composition and molecular weight analysis revealed that the lower molecular weight (14,180–43,590gmol−1) and more branches of hemicelluloses could be extracted by the hot water, which are rich in glucose, galactose, and xylose, while the higher molecular weight (75,430–138,170gmol−1) and more linear hemicelluloses were able to be dissolved into 1% NaOH aqueous solution, which are rich in xylose, principally resulting from l-arabino-(4-O-methyl-glucurono)-d-xylans. In addition, it was found that with increasing the concentration of NaCl (aqueous), the hemicellulosic sub-fractions with both higher arabinose to xylose ratio and higher molecular weight were eluted. Based on the FT-IR, sugar composition and 1H and 13C NMR comparative studies, the alkali-soluble hemicellulosic sub-fractions had a classical structure, with a backbone of β-(1→4)-linked xylosyl residue substituted with arabinose at C–2 and/or C–3 of main chain, whereas the difference may occur in the distribution of branches along the xylan backbone. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]