PhD Oral Defense: Development of biocatalytic approaches for the extraction of rhamnogalacturonan I and the generation of prebiotic oligosaccharides from potato cell wall

PhD Defense of NASTARAN KHODAEI, DEPARTMENT OF FOOD SCIENCE AND AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) pulp rich in pectic polysaccharides is an abundant by-product of the starch and potato processing industry. The main component of potato pectic polysaccharides is rhamnogalacturonan I (RG I, 72% w/w), which contains a high proportion of β-linked galactan side chains (67% w/w). Given the structural properties of potato pectic polysaccharides, they can serve as a new source of bioactive molecules and prebiotics. Conventional alkaline (NaOH and KOH), enzymatic (Aspergillus niger endo-polygalacturonase) and microwave-assisted alkaline (KOH) processes were investigated for the isolation of galactan-rich RG I from potato cell wall.

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