Xylanase-mediated in situ production of arabinoxylan oligosaccharides with prebiotic potential in whole meal breads and breads enriched with arabinoxylan rich materials

Multiple studies have revealed the prebiotic activity of cereal derived arabinoxylan oligosaccharides (AXOS). This study investigated the in situ production of AXOS during bread making. In the first part, the AXOS producing capacity of different xylanases was compared in whole meal bread making. Three mesophilic xylanases originating from Bacillus subtilis, Aspergillus niger and Hypocrea jecorina, and one thermophilic xylanase from H. jecorina (HjXynA), were used in different dosages. At dosages that did not impair dough manageability, HjXynA solubilised and cleaved the arabinoxylan fraction to the largest extent, resulting in an AXOS content of 2.1% (dry basis) and an average degree of polymerisation (avDP) of 9. In the second part, the impact of HjXynA on the AXOS levels in dietary fibre enriched breads was studied. Rye or wheat bran fortified breads treated with HjXynA yielded good quality breads with AXOS levels above 2.0% with an avDP of 26 and 19, respectively.