Efficacy of cellulase and mannanase hydrolysates of konjac glucomannan to promote the growth of lactic acid bacteria.

BACKGROUND Glucomannan polysaccharides may be hydrolysed to lower molecular weight molecules using acids or enzymes, specifically mannanases or cellulases. Mannanases (β-mannanases) hydrolyse β-(1-4)-linked mannose residues randomly in mannans whilst cellulases (β-glucanase) hydrolyse β-(1-4)-linked glucose residues. The molecular weight of the hydrolysate is clearly dependent on the amount of hydrolysis. One use of such hydrolysates has been towards their capacity to function as prebiotics. The relative efficacy of cellulase and/or mannanase hydrolysates of konjac glucomannan to promote the growth of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) has been evaluated. RESULTS The LAB growth profiles (expressed in colony forming units, as a function of time) in UHT milk containing konjac glucomannan hydrolysed with cellulase were significantly greater than those containing glucose (control) or konjac glucomannan mannanase hydrolysates. An equivalent mixture (1:1) of cellulase-mannanase hydrolysates added to the UHT milk also showed significant improvement on the LAB growth profiles (compared to the glucose or mannanase alone hydrolysates). Different LAB strains showed some variation in growth profiles on the hydrolysates although this was not significant as a function of carbon source. CONCLUSIONS Glucomannan hydrolysates produced with either mannanase or cellulase enzymes were effective growth promoters (carbon sources) of LAB. However, cellulase hydrolysates were most effective.