Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 7, 2026
Polymalic Acid-based Nano Biopolymers for Targeting of Multiple Tumor Markers: An Opportunity for Personalized Medicine?
Published on: June 13, 2014
Economic co-production of poly(malic acid) and pullulan from Jerusalem artichoke tuber by Aureobasidium pullulans
Jun Xia1, Jiaxing Xu2, Xiaoyan Liu2
1Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biomass-Based Energy and Enzyme Technology, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Regional Modern Agriculture and Environmental Protection, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huaiyin Normal University, Huai'an, 223300, China. xiajun050219@126.com.
Background:
poly(L-malic acid) (PMA) is a water-soluble polyester with many attractive properties in medicine and food industries, but the high cost of PMA fermentation has restricted its further application for large-scale production. To overcome this problem, PMA production from Jerusalem artichoke tubers was successfully performed. Additionally, a valuable exopolysaccharide, pullulan, was co-produced with PMA by Aureobasidum pullulans HA-4D.
Results:
The Jerusalem artichoke medium for PMA and pullulan co-production contained only 100 g/L hydrolysate sugar, 30 g/L CaCO3 and 1 g/L NaNO3. Compared with the glucose medium, the Jerusalem artichoke medium resulted in a higher PMA concentration (114.4 g/L) and a lower pullulan concentration (14.3 g/L) in a 5 L bioreactor. Meanwhile, the activity of pyruvate carboxylase and malate dehydrogenas was significantly increased, while the activity of α-phosphoglucose mutase, UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase and glucosyltransferase was not affected. To assay the economic-feasibility, large-scale production in a 1 t fermentor was performed, yielding 117.5 g/L PMA and 15.2 g/L pullulan.
Conclusions:
In this study, an economical co-production system for PMA and pullulan from Jerusalem artichoke was developed. The medium for PMA and pullulan co-production was significantly simplified when Jerusalem artichoke tubers were used. With the simplified medium, PMA production was obviously stimulated, which would be associated with the improved activity of pyruvate carboxylase and malate dehydrogenas.
