Abstract

ESPINOZA-ACOSTA, José Luis. Biotechnological production of xylitol from agricultural waste. Biotecnia [online]. 2020, vol.22, n.1, pp.126-134.  Epub Aug 03, 2020. ISSN 1665-1456.  https://doi.org/10.18633/biotecnia.v22i1.1160.

Agricultural residues valorization has been an important issue over the last decades. Agricultural crop waste is an abundant, non-food, renewable, and low-cost feedstock to obtain attractive products for the food industry. The interest in replacing food ingredients such as artificial sweeteners with these obtained by biotechnological processes has grown in recent years, due to consumer’s high demand for low-calories foods and beverages without sacrificing taste. Several types of low caloric sweeteners are being obtained from the biotransformation of agricultural residues, with xylitol above all, for environmental, economic, and nutritional reasons. In recent years, the conversion of hydrolyzed agricultural residues into xylitol using enzymes, yeasts, and fungi has shown significant advances, although there are still many problems to be solved. This review presents the main advances in the use of microorganisms, substrates, and process conditions for the biotransformation of agricultural residues to xylitol. Besides, the main advantages and disadvantages of xylitol obtained by biotechnological routes compared to traditional chemical routes are discussed.

Keywords : Xylitol; agricultural residues; biotechnological pathways; sweeteners; food additives.

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