3 Biotechnological Importance of Hemicelluloses
Hemicelluloses have got several applications in their native or modified forms as
shown in Table 1. Moreover, in recent years, there has been an increasing interest
in hemicellulose hydrolysates due to their outstanding potential applications.
The hemicellulose hydrolysates, such as xylooligosaccharides (XOS) and mannooligosaccharides (MOS), have been reported to function as potential: prebiotics
revitalizing the growth of intestinal bifidobacteria [47, 48], anticarcinogenic agents
[49], immune boosters [50], antioxidants [51], and antimicrobial compounds [52]. In
addition, these oligosaccharides serve in food industry as thickeners, antifreeze, and
Table 1 Applications of intact and modified hemicelluloses in various industrial sectors
Industry
Hemicellulose
Application
Chemicals
Carboxymethyl
xylans
Flocculants
Xylan
Xylitol, furfural
Cosmetic
Arabinoxylan
Emulsifiers, thickeners, stabilizers
Detergents
Carboxymethyl
xylans
Detergency promoters, additives
Fermentation
Xylan and mannan Production of enzymes
Hemicellulose
hydrolysates
Fermentation feedstock for production of different
chemicals
Food
Arabinoxylans
Additives, thickeners, emulsifiers, gelling agents, adhesives, adsorbents, stabilizers, etc.
Glucomannans
Caviar substituent
Gums
Stabilization of fruit drinks, thickeners, gelling agents,
etc.
Xylan and mannan
hydrolysate
Fat substitute, antifreeze agents, thickeners
Xylan
Production of sweetener
Film
Carboxymethyl
xylan
production of different films
Hydrogels
Xylan
Drug delivery and water remediation
Mining
Arabinogalactans
For processing of iron and copper ores
Gur gum
Oil drilling
Paper
Carboxymethyl
xylans
Adhesive in coating paper
Pharmaceutical Xylan sulfate
derivatives
Antitumoral and lypolemic activity
Arabinoxylan
Emulsifiers, thickeners and stabilizers
Arabinogalactans
Tablet binder and emulsifier
Gums
Stabilizing agent such as barium sulfate suspension for
X-ray diagnostic preparation
Plastic
Xylan
Oxygen tight packaging film, additive
Prebiotics
Xylan and mannan Production of prebiotic oligosaccharides
254
G. Mamo
Hemicelluloses have got several applications in their native or modified forms as
shown in Table 1. Moreover, in recent years, there has been an increasing interest
in hemicellulose hydrolysates due to their outstanding potential applications.
The hemicellulose hydrolysates, such as xylooligosaccharides (XOS) and mannooligosaccharides (MOS), have been reported to function as potential: prebiotics
revitalizing the growth of intestinal bifidobacteria [47, 48], anticarcinogenic agents
[49], immune boosters [50], antioxidants [51], and antimicrobial compounds [52]. In
addition, these oligosaccharides serve in food industry as thickeners, antifreeze, and
Table 1 Applications of intact and modified hemicelluloses in various industrial sectors
Industry
Hemicellulose
Application
Chemicals
Carboxymethyl
xylans
Flocculants
Xylan
Xylitol, furfural
Cosmetic
Arabinoxylan
Emulsifiers, thickeners, stabilizers
Detergents
Carboxymethyl
xylans
Detergency promoters, additives
Fermentation
Xylan and mannan Production of enzymes
Hemicellulose
hydrolysates
Fermentation feedstock for production of different
chemicals
Food
Arabinoxylans
Additives, thickeners, emulsifiers, gelling agents, adhesives, adsorbents, stabilizers, etc.
Glucomannans
Caviar substituent
Gums
Stabilization of fruit drinks, thickeners, gelling agents,
etc.
Xylan and mannan
hydrolysate
Fat substitute, antifreeze agents, thickeners
Xylan
Production of sweetener
Film
Carboxymethyl
xylan
production of different films
Hydrogels
Xylan
Drug delivery and water remediation
Mining
Arabinogalactans
For processing of iron and copper ores
Gur gum
Oil drilling
Paper
Carboxymethyl
xylans
Adhesive in coating paper
Pharmaceutical Xylan sulfate
derivatives
Antitumoral and lypolemic activity
Arabinoxylan
Emulsifiers, thickeners and stabilizers
Arabinogalactans
Tablet binder and emulsifier
Gums
Stabilizing agent such as barium sulfate suspension for
X-ray diagnostic preparation
Plastic
Xylan
Oxygen tight packaging film, additive
Prebiotics
Xylan and mannan Production of prebiotic oligosaccharides
254
G. Mamo