Oligosaccharides in straw hydrolysate could improve the production of single‐cell protein with Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Using agricultural wastes to produce single-cell proteins (SCP) can reduce production costs effectively. The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of enzyme loading on the components of rice straw (RS) hydrolysate and their effects on the growth of yeast.At the same glucose concentration, the dry weight of cells produced in the hydrolysate was 2.89 times higher than that in 2 g L-1 yeast extract (YE) medium, indicating that the hydrolysate was a suitable substrate for yeast growth. Ethanol precipitation followed by analysis showed that there were many oligosaccharides in the hydrolysate. The amount of cellulase had an important effect on the production of monosaccharides but had a smaller effect on the amounts and compositions of oligosaccharides. Adding oligosaccharides to the medium had no effect on ethanol production, but it promoted yeast growth and increased SCP production effectively. The results indicate that oligosaccharides were an important growth factor for yeast in the hydrolysate. Compared with YE medium, the cost of the medium with the hydrolysate was reduced by 68.47% when the same dry cell weight was obtained.Oligosaccharides in the hydrolysate can improve SCP production with low nutrient cost. This finding could reduce the amounts of cellulase required during saccharification and nutrients during culture, providing a new low-cost method for SCP production. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.