Purpose Biopigments, natural colors from microbiological origin are of great interest because of their potential advantages over synthetic colorants. Therefore, this paper aims to evaluate the best possible fermentative conditions for the maximum production of biopigment using solid state fermentation and submerged fermentation by Monascus purpureus MTCC 369. Design/methodology/approach The biopigment was produced using solid state fermentation and submerged with optimized substrate to achieve higher yield. The statistical analysis was carried out using a Microsoft Excel ® (Microsoft Corporation). Findings On comparative analysis, it was observed that solid state fermentation resulted significant accumulation of biopigment (9.0 CVU/g) on the 9th day in comparison to submerged fermentation (5.1 CVU/g) on the 15th day. Practical implications Results revealed that sweet potato peel powder and pea pods provides necessary nutrients required for mycelial growth, and biopigment production, therefore, can be used as potent substrate for biopigment production by Monascus purpureus MTCC 369. Extracted color can be used in confectionery, beverages and pharmaceutical industries. Originality/value This work focuses on utilisation of waste for production of pigment as alternative source to synthetic colorant, and few studies have been carried out using wastes, but no work has been carried out on sweet potato peel to the best of the authors’ knowledge.

•Agro-industrial waste generation.•Microbial sources for the production of biopigments.•Bio-utilization of agro-industrial waste for microbial pigment production.•Applications of microbial pigments.

The nutritional and therapeutic benefits of prebiotics have attracted the keen interest of consumers and food processing industry for their use as food ingredients. Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), new alternative sweeteners, constitute 1-kestose, nystose, and 1-beta-fructofuranosyl nystose produced from sucrose by the action of fructosyltransferase from plants, bacteria, yeast, and fungi. FOS has low caloric values, non-cariogenic properties, and help gut absorption of ions, decrease levels of lipids and cholesterol and bifidus-stimulating functionality. The purified linear fructose oligomers are added to various food products like cookies, yoghurt, infant milk products, desserts, and beverages due to their potential health benefits. This review is focused on the various aspects of biotechnological production, purification and potential applications of fructo-oligosaccharides.

Consumers today have increased awareness of food and food products. Their demand for "natural" food Šavoring agents with the perceived safety and good health associated with food products is driving Šavor houses to bring nature back to their workstations, thereby opening up renewed challenges and opportunities in food research and development.

Worldwide interest in prebiotics have been increasing extensively both as food ingredients and pharmacological supplements, since they have beneficial properties for human health. Prebiotics not only stimulate the growth of healthy bacteria such as bifidobacteria and lactobacilli in the gut but also increase the resistance towards pathogens. In addition to this, they also act as dietary fiber, an energy source for intestinal cells after converting to short-chain fatty acids, a stimulator of immune systems, sugar replacer etc. Moreover, due to heat resistant properties, they are able to maintain their intact form during the baking process and allow them to be incorporated into every day food products. Thus, they can be interesting and useful ingredients in the development of novel functional foods. This review provides comprehensive information about the different biotechnological techniques employed in the production of prebiotics and their potential applications in different areas.

In the present investigation, studies were carried out to evaluate the effect of medium consitituents and process paramters to get maximum biopigment production using Rhodotorula glutinis MTCC 1151. Screening of different media components indicated that a medium containing glucose (6%, w/v), urea (0.05%) and magnesium sulphate (0.05%) displayed higher pigment production than others. The optimization of different process parameters indicated that maximum pigment production was observed at pH 6.0, temperature 30°C, after 72 hrs incubation period under submerged fermentation.

Prebiotics are food ingredients that are good for the health. The prebiotics stimulate the growth of healthy bacteria such as Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus in the gut and increase resistance to invade pathogens. This effect is induced by consuming functional foods that contain prebiotics. These compound cannot be digested in the small intestines but stimulate the growth and activity of strains of bacteria in the large intestines. Prebiotics are widely used to prepare fermented dairy products like yoghurt or freeze-dried cultures. Futhermore, prebiotics are heat resistant, which keep them intact during the baking process and allow them to be incorporated into every day food choices. By consuming a nondigestible ingredient, it allows the growth of bio-cultures by reaching the intestine unaffected by the digestion processes. These foods induce metabolic activity, leading to health improvement. Healthy bacteria, in the intestine can combat unwanted bacteria, providing a number of health benefits.

BACKGROUND: Hydrolysis of lactose with beta-D-galactosidase is one of the most promising biotechnological applications in the food industry because of its use in the production of low lactose milk products and whey hydrolysis. To overcome the problem of enzyme extraction from cells due to the intracellular nature of beta-D-galactosidase and the poor permeability of the cell membrane to lactose, permeabilization of yeast cells was investigated. Permeabilized whole cells have been claimed to have an advantage over more pure enzyme preparations. In view of the advantages of immobilized cell systems over free cell systems, permeabilized cells were immobilized by an entrapment method in calcium alginate gel. A packed bed reactor together with this immobilized cell system has been used for hydrolysis of milk lactose in a continuous system.RESULTS: Different process parameters (temperature, substrate feed rate, biomass load and time-course) were optimized to maximize lactose hydrolysis. The immobilized yeast cells (300 mg dry wt) resulted in 87.2% hydrolysis of milk lactose at 30 degrees C and flow rate 7 mL h(-1) in a packed bed reactor system.CONCLUSION: This convenient and relatively inexpensive method of immobilization, resulting in high hydrolysis potential in a continuous system, indicates that permeabilized yeast cells have the potential for the production of low lactose milk and milk products. (C) 2010 Society of Chemical Industry

The enzyme β-galactosidase can be obtained from a wide variety of sources such as microorganisms, plants, and animals. The use of β-galactosidase for the hydrolysis of lactose in milk and whey is one of the promising enzymatic applications in food and dairy processing industries. The enzyme can be used in either soluble or immobilized forms but the soluble enzyme can be used only for batch processes and the immobilized form has the advantage of being used in batch wise as well as in continuous operation. Immobilization has been found to be convenient method to make enzyme thermostable and to prevent the loss of enzyme activity. This review has been focused on the different types of techniques used for the immobilization of β-galactosidase and its potential applications in food industry.

The effect of different process variables of reverse micelle extraction process like pH, addition of surfactant (AOT) concentration and potassium chloride (KCl) concentration on amylase recovery has been studied and analysed. Solid-state fermentation was used for the production of amylase enzyme. Response surface methodology (RSM) using central composite rotatable design (CCRD) was employed to analyse and optimize the enzyme extraction process. The regression analysis indicates that the effect of AOT concentration, and KCl concentration were significant, whereas the effect of pH was non-significant on enzyme recovery. For the maximum recovery of enzyme, the optimum operating condition for pH, AOT concentration (M) and KCl concentration were 10.43, 0.05 and 1.00, respectively. Under these optimal conditions, the enzyme recovery was 83.16%.

ABSTRACT To overcome the problem of enzyme extraction and poor permeability of cell membrane to lactose, permeabilized Kluyveromyces marxianus NCIM 3465 cells as a source of β ‐D‐galactosidase were employed for the production of lactose‐hydrolyzed milk. In view of the advantages of an immobilized cell system over a free cell system, the yeast cells were entrapped in alginate gel for their subsequent use in lactose hydrolysis. Different process parameters (alginate concentration, bead size, biomass load, temperature, agitation and incubation time) were monitored to enhance lactose hydrolysis in milk. Maximum lactose hydrolysis (87.9%) was observed with yeast cells immobilized in 2% (w/v) alginate concentration with a bead size of 2.90 mm at 30C under agitation (80 rpm) after 150 min of incubation. The developed system was highly stable and the alginate entrapped yeast cells can be recycled up to the eight cycle without any marked change in their ability to carry out the lactose hydrolysis.

To overcome the problem of enzyme extraction and poor permeability of cell membrane to lactose, experimentation was carried to permeabilize Kluyveromyces marxianus NCIM 3465 cells for their subsequent use for the production of lactose-hydrolyzed milk. Different process parameters, such as biomass load, temperature, agitation and treatment time, were optimized for maximum lactose hydrolysis in skim milk using these cells. The ethanol-permeabilized yeast cells gave 89% hydrolysis of milk lactose under optimized conditions.

Five strains of yeast were evaluated for their ability to produce β-galactosidase. One of the strains, Kluyveromyces marxianus NCIM 3465 showed maximum enzyme activity of 7.2 IU mL - 1 after 28 h of incubation with 10% (vlv) inoculum at 30°C.

Kinnow mandarin is one of the major citrus fruit crops of India, which suffers from post-harvest losses during glut period. The fermentation of this juice to wine can be attractive alternatives to explore its potential in alcoholic beverage industry. The present investigation was carried to find out the optimal conditions for the efficient conversion of kinnow juice into wine using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). Numerical optimization technique was applied to achieve the maximum possible ethanol production. The optimum process conditions for this fermentation process were 26°Brix total soluble solids concentration, 5.4 pH, 29°C temperature and inoculum size of 7.5% (v/v) and 5 days of incubation period. Corresponding to these optimum conditions, the predicted value of ethanol production was found to be 11%, which was experimentally verified.