Enzymatic soybean flour processing: Modeling for insights into optimal carbohydrases composition and carbohydrate monomerization from complex biomass

Abstract

Carbohydrate is a major underutilized and undervalued resource in soybean. Its indigestibility concern causes devaluation of soy protein for some uses. Conversion of carbohydrate to monomeric sugars as fermentation feedstock can significantly increase soybean value but it involves multiple carbohydrates and multi-enzyme dependency and interactions. Sugar yields were measured for soybean flour processing using 10 different enzymes and the results modeled to gain insights into soybean carbohydrates and monomerization, including individual sugar distributions among different carbohydrates, sugar composition of each carbohydrate, and the optimal carbohydrases composition. The study is important for guiding future optimization of enzyme activities and process design.

Keywords

• Soy protein
• Soybean flour
• Enzyme hydrolysis
• Soy carbohydrate composition
• Aspergillus
• Enzyme production