The Preparation of Crystalline Mannobiose from Brown Copra Meal Using the Enzyme System and Yeast Fermentation

${\beta}-1$, 4-Mannobiose was prepared by the enzymatic hydrolysis of brown copra meal and the subsequent elimination of mono-saccharides from the resultant hydrolysate with a yeast. The enzyme system hydrolyzed brown copra meal and produced monosaccharides and $\beta$-1, 4-mannobiose without other oligomers at the final stage of the reaction. Brown copra meal (30 g) was hydrolyzed at $50^{\circ}^C$ and pH 5 for 48 hr with the crude enzyme solution (300 ml) from Penicillium purpurogenum. By the elimination of monosaccharides from the hydrolysis products with a yeast (Candida parapsilosis var. komabaensis k-75), 5.2 g of crystalline mannobiose was obtained without the use of chromatographic techniques. After 50 hours of yeast cultivation, the total sugar content fell from 3.5% to 2.4%, and the average degree of polymerization rose from 1.8 to 2.2.