Production of manno-oligosaccharide from Gleditsia microphylla galactomannan using acetic acid and ferrous chloride.

Abstract A novel and efficient method for manno-oligosaccharides (MOS) production has been proposed by utilizing Gleditsia microphylla galactomannan as the starting material. This co-operative hydrolysis using ferrous chloride (Fe2+) and acetic acid (HAc) effectively improved the MOS yield and meanwhile decreased the amount of monosaccharide and the 5-hydroxymethyl-furfural (HMF). The highest yields under the optimum conditions were 46.7% by HAc hydrolysis (5 M HAc at 130 °C for 120 min); 37.3% by Fe2+ hydrolysis (0.1 M Fe2+ at 150 °C for 120 min); and 51.4% by co-operative hydrolysis (2 M HAc, 0.05 M Fe2+ at 160 °C for 10 min). From the changes in the value of M/G (mannose/galactose) ratios, it was deduced that Fe2+ predominantly cleaves the main chain, and HAc assists in the breakage of the side chain, thus resulting in the high-efficient co-operative hydrolysis for the production of MOS.