Gentiobiose Explained
Gentiobiose is a disaccharide composed of two units of D-glucose joined with a β(1->6) linkage. It is a white crystalline solid that is soluble in water or hot methanol. Gentiobiose is incorporated into the chemical structure of crocin, the chemical compound that gives saffron its color. It is a product of the caramelization of glucose.[1] During a starch hydrolysis process for glucose syrup, gentiobiose, which has bitterness, is formed as an undesirable product through the acid-catalyzed condensation reaction of two D-glucose molecules.[2] One β-D-glucose unit elongation of the bitter disaccharide reduces its bitterness by a fifth, as determined by human volunteers using the trimer, gentiotriose.[3] Gentiobiose is also produced via enzymatic hydrolysis of glucans, including pustulan[4] and β-1,3-1,6-glucan.[5]
Notes and References
- 10.1111/j.1365-2621.1966.tb01905.x. The Thermal Degradation of Sugars I. Thermal Polymerization of Glucose. 1966. Sugisawa. Hirqshi. Edo. Hiroshi. Journal of Food Science. 31. 4. 561.
- Berlin. Henry. The Occurrence of Gentiobiose in the Products of the Commercial Hydrolysis of Corn Starch2 . 1926. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 48. 10. 2627–2630. 10.1021/ja01421a017.
- Fujimoto. Yoshinori. Hattori. Takeshi. Uno. Shuji. Murata. Takeomi. Usui. Taichi. 2009. Enzymatic synthesis of gentiooligosaccharides by transglycosylation with β-glycosidases from Penicillium multicolor. Carbohydrate Research. 344. 8. 972–978. 10.1016/j.carres.2009.03.006. 19362709 . 10297/3621 . free.
- Hattori. Takeshi. Kato. Yasuna. Uno. Shuji. Usui. Taichi. 2013. Mode of action of a β-(1→6)-glucanase from Penicillium multicolor. Carbohydrate Research. 366. 6–16. 10.1016/j.carres.2012.11.002. 23246473 .
- Hirabayashi. Katsuki. Tashiro. Yoshiya. Kondo. Nobuhiro. Hayashi. Sachio. 2017. Production of Gentiobiose from Hydrothermally Treated Aureobasidium pullulans β-1,3-1,6-Glucan. Journal of Applied Glycoscience. 64. 2. 33–37. 10.5458/jag.jag.JAG-2017_002. 34354494 . 8056935 .
