High hydrostatic pressure as pretreatment and adjuvant for the enzymatic release of ferulic acid from corn cob

Process Biochemistry

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procbio.2017.04.011

Bioprocesses based on the use of enzymes can be employed for the obtainment of ferulic acid by its solubilization from corn cob, which is a natural source of this phenolic compound. In order to overcome the limitations caused by the recalcitrance of biomass, the application of pretreatments is advisable. The utilization of high hydrostatic pressure on the enzymatic release of ferulic acid from corn cob with three feruloyl esterase extracts was studied applying pressurization at 600 MPa as a pretreatment in combination with a mild thermal treatment at 130 °C/2 h. Additionally, pressurization at 200 MPa during the enzymatic hydrolysis step was assessed to increase the ferulic acid yield. The results showed that the application of a high pressure pretreatment at 600 MPa/40 °C/15 min to thermally treated corn cob increased by 20% the ferulic acid release in comparison with the thermal treatment for Ultraflo® L, but not for the Aspergillus extracts. Pressurization at 200 MPa during the hydrolysis stage affected differently the enzymes stability and ferulic acid release depending on the extract and the pretreatments applied, showing that the effects of pressurization are complex and must be assessed in each case.

Feruloyl esterase production by Aspergillus terreus CECT 2808 and subsequent application to enzymatic hydrolysis

Enzyme and Microbial Technology, 91 (2016) 52–58

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enzmictec.2016.05.011

Ferulic acid esterases (FAE) were produced by Aspergillus terreus CECT 2808 from vine trimming shoots (VTS) and corn cob. Later, the fungal extracts thus obtained were used to enzymatically release ferulic acid (FA) from both substrates. Our findings showed a higher FAE activity in the enzymatic extracts produced on corn cob (0.070 ± 0.004 U/mL). Nevertheless, the enzymatic extracts produced on VTS demonstrated a better performance for FA release from both corn cob (2.05 ± 0.01 mg/g) and VTS (0.19 ± 0.003 mg/g). This result was probably because of the higher xylanase/FAE ratio determined in VTS extract. Therefore, an additional assay was carried out by supplementing corn cob extract with a commercial xylanase to test the influence of FAE/xylanase ratio in FA release. The results revealed the relevance of the FAE/xylanase ratio for an optimal FA release.