Synergic Enzymatic Strategy for Simultaneous Cello-/Xylo-Oligosaccharide Production from Sugarcane Straw via a Novel...

Cello- (COS) and xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) are value-added carbohydrates obtained from lignocellulosic biomasses and studied due to their potential in the biotechnology industry. Our study demonstrates an efficient and integrated strategy for the simultaneous production of COS and XOS using sugarcane straw that was previously delignified and deacetylated through a one-step pretreatment with a mixture of protic ionic liquids (2-hydroxyethylammonium acetate [Mea]-[Ac] and hexanoate [Mea]-[Hex]). Under improved experimental design conditions (40 °C, cellulase 50 FPU g_biomass ^-1, and xylanase 30 U g_biomass ^-1), the process achieved remarkable yields within just 3 h: 77.66 mgCOS g_biomass ^-1 (productivity of 25.89 mgCOS g_biomass ^-1 h^-1 and specific productivity of 0.52 mgCOS FPU^-1 h^-1) and 19.27 mgXOS g_biomass ^-1 (productivity of 6.42 mgXOS g_biomass ^-1 h^-1 and specific productivity of 0.21 mgXOS U^1- h^-1). Results showed that milder temperatures and shorter times favor enzymatic hydrolysis for producing oligosaccharides, and the presence of xylanase is crucial for synergistic action and for the simultaneous obtaining of COS and XOS, making the enzymatic route more economical for obtaining bioproducts. Thus, the use of ionic liquids as pretreatment agents, a highly sustainable and environmentally friendly process, promotes the valorization of lignocellulosic waste, such as sugarcane straw, and enables the production of high value-added biomolecules, such as oligosaccharides.