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Isolation and Characterization of Cellulose/Arabinoxylan Residual Mixtures from Corn Fiber Gum Processes

¹United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Eastern Regional Research Center, 600 E. Mermaid Lane, Wyndmoor, PA 19038. Names are necessary to report factually on available data; however, the USDA neither guarantees nor warrants the standard of the product, and the use of the name by the USDA implies no approval of the product to the exclusion of others that may also be suitable. ²Corresponding author. Phone: (215) 233-6422; E-mail: ldoner@arserrc.gov

White, fluffy cellulose/arabinoxylan mixtures (CAX) were generated from the solid residues remaining after corn fiber gum (CFG) production. Most CAX were produced using variations of a process in which a single alkaline hydrogen peroxide (AHP) step was used for delignification and for CFG (arabinoxylan) extraction. The optimal ratio of H₂O₂ to corn fiber to water was 0.1:1:20. Holding this ratio constant, time and temperature conditions were systematically varied, and yields of CAX and CFG determined. Parallel processes were conducted without H₂O₂ to determine its effect on CAX and CFG yield. CAX prepared under identical conditions but without H₂O₂ retained nearly twice the levels of CFG sugars, as revealed from L-arabinose, D-xylose, and D,L-galactose levels. Even the CAX prepared under extreme AHP conditions (1 hr, 100°C), however, contained 32.9% of these CFG sugars. This CAX was obtained in a 25.1% yield, whereas those produced under less vigorous conditions were obtained in higher yields, because they retained more CFG. CAX prepared in the presence of H₂O₂ hydrated very effectively, as indicated by their high swollen volumes and water absorbance values. This suggests potential food applications for CAX as a bulking agent. In addition, the open structure of the CAX matrix would render these residues suitable for chemical derivatization and enzymatic saccharification.