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Volume 8, Issue 6 (Suppl) J Bioremediat Biodegrad, an open access journal
ISSN:2155-6199 Biopolymers & Bioplastics 2017
October 19-20, 2017
October 19-20, 2017 San Francisco, USA
7th International Conference and Exhibition on
Biopolymers and Bioplastics
Carbohydrate biopolymers associated with the South African sugar industry
Heidi du Clou and Stephen N. Walford
Sugar Milling Research Institute NPC, South Africa
Statement of the Problem: Polysaccharides are carbohydrate biopolymers that are derived from numerous sources; including plants
and microorganisms. They are present in sugarcane and in sugarcane processing streams. Sugarcane polysaccharides include
starch, dextran, indigenous sugarcane polysaccharide, Robert’s glucan, galactomannan, levans and sarkaran. Collectively, sugar
technologists refer to mixtures of polysaccharides found in processing streams as “gums”. Gums are regarded negatively in the sugar
industry. Not only do they represent a direct loss of recoverable sucrose (sugar) due to the action of the microbes that produced them,
but they also possess physical properties that affect processing. For example, cane starch, dextran and sarkaran have been linked to
increased viscosities and related sucrose losses in sugar processing streams. The causes, chemical make-up and effects of cane starch
and dextran are well documented. However, other gum polysaccharides are not as well understood. This research looks to establish
the methods to isolate, elucidate and characterise the major constituents of gums in the South African sugar industry. Methodology
& Theoretical Orientation: Gums from various sugar processing streams from across South Africa were isolated and characterised
by methods that were established using gel filtration chromatography, gas chromatography mass spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic
resonance spectroscopy, rheology and enzymatic hydrolysis followed by high performance liquid chromatography. Findings:
Polysaccharides that constitute gums in the South African sugarcane industry are not limited to starch and dextran, but rather a
complex and variable mixture of biopolymers. Conclusion & Significance: The techniques developed and knowledge gained better
equips the sugar industry to analyse gums and opens opportunities for the industry to exploit the unique physico-chemical properties
of these biopolymers.
Biography
Heidi du Clou has her expertise in analytical chemistry, chemical method development and biopolymer structure elucidation. She is passionate about biopolymers,
mass spectroscopy and rheology. Heidi has been involved in the sugarcane industry since 2009. Her research for this industry has led to the development of
several methods that enable the analysis of biopolymers within complex sugar matrices, and the compilation of a carbohydrate mass spectral library specific to the
polysaccharides found in the industry. Her passion for rheology has led to an improved understanding of sugarcane-derived biopolymer solution behaviour, which
has initiated a multitude of new research possibilities for the sugarcane processing industry.
Heidi du Clou et al., J Bioremediat Biodegrad 2017, 8:6 (Suppl)
DOI: 10.4172/2155-6199-C1-011