Comparative study on xylo-oligosaccharide production and its bioactivity from Gleditsia sinensis Lam. Peel pretreated with various organic acids

In the context of contemporary health, the integration of functional foods that possess diverse biological activities has been garnering increasing attention. Xylo-oligosaccharide (XOS), as a prominent candidate among prebiotic carbohydrates, have attracted particular interest. In this study, the hydrolysis of Gleditsia sinensis Lam. peel (GSP) was compared using malic acid (MA), glutamic acid (GA), pyruvic acid (PYA), benzoic acid (BA), and acetic acid (AA) for the production of XOS. The results showed that PYA had a potential for low-temperature hydrolysis, yielding 57.74 % XOS and 9.12 % xylose at 130 °C, without harmful by-products. It also had higher selectivity for the degradation of hemicellulose. Significantly, MA demonstrated the highest hydrolysis efficiency, achieving a maximum XOS yield of 69.16 % at 150 °C. The types of organic acids alter the composition and properties of XOS, leading to differences in its biological activity. The XOS produced by glutamic acid (GAX) demonstrated the highest prebiotic activity by enhancing the growth and metabolism of Bifidobacterium adolescentis(B. adolescentis) , which is closely linked to the supportive role of GA. Additionally, the XOS produced by PYA (PAX) and BA (BAX) manifested promising hypoglycemic and antioxidant effects, respectively. This research deepens our understanding of various organic acids pretreatment modes for XOS production patterns and their potential applications in functional oligosaccharides.