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Presentation of the Scientific Consortium of the
EU-Project "New Products from Starch-Derived
1,5-Anhydro-D-Fructose (NEPSA)"




Prof. Dr. Friedrich Giffhorn

Prof. Dr. Friedrich Giffhorn Angewandte
Mikrobiologie, Universität des Saarlandes,
Postfach 15 11 50, D- 66041 Saarbrücken

http//www.eurice.de/NEPSA/
Abstract A novel industrial monosaccharide,
anhydro-fructose (AF), is produced from starch by
a new biocatalytic process using glucan lyase.
Screening, in vitro evolution and rational enzyme
design will be used to produce glucan lyase with
high performance in the industrial bioconversion
of starch to AF. In a concerted action the market
potential of AF compound will be exploited by
systematic enzymatic and chemical modification of
this compound to produce a line of high-value
added products for use in the food, cosmetics and
pharmaceutical industries, and to study its
benefits on human health. One can envisage the
production of AF both as bulk product and as fine
chemical dependent on its application in chemical
synthesis, for therapy and as food ingredient.
Commercialization of AF and derivatives thereof
is envisaged by traditional and start-up
bioindustries that participate in this
transdisciplinary project. This project is
funded under the 5th Framework Programme of the
European Commission, Contract Reference
QLRT-2000-02400.
Description of the work The project work has
started in December 2001 with the production of
the new sugar anhydro-fructose (AF) by treatment
of starch with the enzyme glucan lyase and make
it available to the partners. And it will end by
delivering established methods to economically
produce new and high value-added products derived
from AF. This includes the medical and
nutritional evaluation of such products, and
finally an evaluation of the achievements of the
project with respect to beneficial socio-economic
effects. A very broad array of diverse
methodologies will be employed to achieve the
objectives of the proposal as it is inherent to
the highly integrated transdisciplinary approach
pursued by the academic and industrial
participants.
For a financially feasible industrial production
of AF it is essential to improve the catalytic
properties of glucan lyase. The strategies
employed to obtain enzymes with properties
improved to match the process requirements, are
screening of natural resources as well as
advanced biotechnological methodologies assisted
by bioinformatics. Separate from screening and
enzyme engineering, the starch degradation
process will be optimized by biochemical
engineering to provide the project partners with
sufficient amounts of AF. Concurrently, AF is
used as starting material for extensive
biocatalytic and chemical modification to produce
a line of high value-added products. In
particular the synthesis of an array of
monomeric, oligomeric and polymeric compounds
from AF are envisaged which may include new
sweeteners, antioxidants, emulsifiers,
nutritional oligosaccharides, and new polymeric
biomaterials. AF as a monosugar is low in
sweetness, however, AF proved to be an
antioxidant, a humectant and a calorie-free
sweetener filler in in vitro tests, and this will
further be investigated using food models for its
shelf-life and its organoleptic effect. The
expected market potentials of these compounds are
in the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical
industries. A possible beneficial effect of AF on
Type 2 diabetes will be evaluated using animal
models, and promising derivatives are included in
these studies.
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Köpper S (1998) Rare keto-aldoses from enzymatic
oxidation substrates and oxidation products of
pyranose oxidase. Chem Eur J 4
2442-2455 2 Freimund S, Köpper S (1998) Dimeric
structures of 1,5-anhydro-D-fructose. Carbohydr
Res 308 195-200. 3 Giffhorn F, Köpper S, Huwig
A, Freimund S (2000) Rare sugars and sugar-based
synthons by chemo-enzymatic synthesis. Enzyme
Microbial Technol 27 734-742. 4 Giffhorn F
(2000) Fungal pyranose oxidases occurrence,
properties and biotechnical applications in
carbohydrate chemsitry. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol
54 727-740. 5 Ahrén B, JJ Holst, S Yu (2000)
1,5-Anhydro-D-fructose increases glucose
tolerance by increasing GLP-1 and insulin in
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SM, Lundt I, Marcussen J, Yu S (2002)
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