Highly efficient enzymatic preparation of isomalto-oligosaccharides from starch using an enzyme cocktail

Background Current commercial production of isomalto-oligosaccharides (IMOs) commonly involves a lengthy multistage process with low yields. Results To improve the process efficiency for production of IMOs, we developed a simple and efficient method by using enzyme cocktails composed of the recombinant Bacillus naganoensis pullulanase produced by Bacillus licheniformis , α-amylase from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens , barley bran β-amylase, and α-transglucosidase from Aspergillus niger to perform simultaneous saccharification and transglycosylation to process the liquefied starch. After 13 h of reacting time, 49.09% IMOs (calculated from the total amount of isomaltose, isomaltotriose, and panose) were produced. Conclusions Our method of using an enzyme cocktail for the efficient production of IMOs offers an attractive alternative to the process presently in use.