Isolation and purification of D-mannose from palm kernel

Area of Science:

• Carbohydrate Chemistry
• Biotechnology
• Process Chemistry

Background:

• Palm kernel is a rich source of mannan oligosaccharides.
• Efficient extraction of d-mannose is crucial for various industrial applications.
• Existing methods for d-mannose isolation can be costly and inefficient.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an economically viable procedure for d-mannose isolation and purification from palm kernel.
• To optimize the enzymatic hydrolysis step for maximum d-mannose yield.
• To characterize the purified d-mannose using spectroscopic methods.

Main Methods:

• Catalytic hydrolysis of palm kernel with sulfuric acid.
• Enzymatic fermentation using mannan-degrading enzymes, specifically endo-beta-mannanase.
• Purification via silica gel column filtration, ion-exchange resin desalination, and ethanol crystallization.

Main Results:

• A total yield of 48.4% pure d-mannose was achieved based on palm kernel weight.
• Endo-beta-mannanase demonstrated superior efficacy in hydrolyzing palm kernel oligosaccharides.
• The purified d-mannose was confirmed through FTIR, (1)H NMR, and (13)C NMR spectroscopy.

Conclusions:

• The developed procedure offers an economical and efficient route for d-mannose production from palm kernel.
• Enzymatic hydrolysis with endo-beta-mannanase is a key step for high-yield d-mannose isolation.
• The study provides a scalable method for obtaining pure d-mannose suitable for further applications.