Cello-oligosaccharides production from multi-stage enzymatic hydrolysis by lignocellulosic biomass and evaluation of prebiotic potential

Cello-oligosaccharides (COS) are very recent promising water-soluble dietary fibers, which favors several application in food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. A three-stage enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose extracted from agroindustrial wastes (sugarcane straw and coffee husk) with the 1,4-β-endoglucanase cellulase of glycoside hydrolase family (GH12) was developed with a processing time of 48 h. Finds evidenced that removal of products (glucose and cello-oligosaccharides) at each stage provided an increase in cello-oligosaccharides enzymatic hydrolysis in yield of approximately 65%. COS promoted growth of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus brevis after 24 h of fermentation, although they have presented low efficiency with Bifidobacterium sp. This multi-stage enzymatic hydrolysis has potential as a successful strategy to reduction enzyme requirements for COS production with prebiotic properties. This work proposes an innovative technology of multi-stage enzymatic hydrolysis using the enzyme adsorbed on the cellulose surface obtained from renewable sources (sugarcane straw and coffee husk). This strategy is potential to increase the COS yield production and possibly make its cost-viable. The study is also relevant due to accessing the growth promotion of a representative selection of probiotic Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains in order to evidence their prebiotic potential to be used as a possible functional ingredient for the pharmaceutical and food industries.