Exopolysaccharides from Genus Weissella and their Functional Applications
Rwivoo Baruah and Arun Goyal
from: Microbial Exopolysaccharides: Current Research and Developments (Edited by: Özlem Ateş Duru). Caister Academic Press, U.K. (2019) Pages: 165-182.
Abstract
The microbial exopolysaccharides that have a wide variety of applications are predominantly produced by Lactic acid bacteria (LAB). In recent times the focus on Weissella, a specific genus of LAB, has grown. In the genus Weissella two species, cibaria and confusa are the major producer of exopolysaccharides (EPS). These species chiefly produce the exopolysaccharide "dextran" a biopolymer of D-glucose. The physicochemical properties of dextran from Weissella makes it uniquely suitable for several food applications. Besides dextran the genus Weissella has been also reported to produce heteropolysaccharides containing alternating monomers such as mannose and galactose and also capsular polysaccharides (EPS covalently bound to the cells). Variety of applications using exopolysaccharide from Weissella such as improving the texture of bread in baking, its anti-oxidative and immunomodulatory properties are known. The ability to produce high amount of exopolysaccharides by members of genus Weissella have led to the development of novel food products such as quinoa-based yogurt made using dextran producing Weissella cibaria. This review describes the different types of EPS produced by genus Weissella and their characteristics with the functional properties read more ...
