The production of pullulan from molasses and synthetic medium by Aureobasidium pullulans P56 in batch culture was investigated. Among the pretreatments of molasses used to increase polysaccharide production, sulfuric acid + activated carbon treatment gave better results with regard to polysaccharide concentration, polysaccharide yield and sugar utilization. | Turk J Biol 28 (2004) 23-30 © TÜB‹TAK Production of Pullulan From Beet Molasses and Synthetic Medium by Aureobasidium pullulans Yekta GÖKSUNGUR, Asl› UÇAN, Ulgar GÜVENÇ Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Ege University, 35100 Bornova, ‹zmir - TURKEY Received: Abstract: The production of pullulan from molasses and synthetic medium by Aureobasidium pullulans P56 in batch culture was investigated. Among the pretreatments of molasses used to increase polysaccharide production, sulfuric acid + activated carbon treatment gave better results with regard to polysaccharide concentration, polysaccharide yield and sugar utilization. A maximum polysaccharide concentration of g l-1 and a pullulan concentration of g l-1 were obtained in synthetic medium whereas g l-1 of polysaccharide and g l-1 of pullulan were obtained in molasses medium containing 50 g l-1 of initial sugar at pH . The highest pullulan contents of the crude polysaccharide were and for synthetic medium and molasses medium, respectively and this showed that A. pullulans produced a mixture of pullulan and other polysaccharides in molasses medium. The experiments performed with synthetic medium showed that higher initial sugar concentrations led to a significant decrease in pullulan yield. A polysaccharide concentration of g l-1 and a pullulan concentration of g l-1 were obtained in a stirred tank bioreactor with synthetic medium. These concentrations were lower than those in shake flask culture. Key Words: pullulan, beet molasses, synthetic medium, Aureobasidium pullulans Pancar Melas› ve Sentetik Ortamdan Aureobasidium pullulans ile Pullulan Üretimi Özet: Bu çal›flmada pancar melas› ve sentetik ortamdan Aureobasidium pullulans P56 ile pullulan üretimi araflt›r›lm›flt›r. Polisakkarit üretimini art›rmak için melasa uygulanan ön ifllemlerden sülfürik asit + aktif kömür ile daha yüksek polisakkarit, polisakkarit verimi ve fleker tüketim .
