Extraction and characterization of water-extractable and water-unextractable arabinoxylans from spelt bran: Study of the hydrolysis conditions for monosaccharides analysis

Monosaccharide analyses were performed, statistically treated and adopted for spelt bran fractions; with regard to the arabinoxylan content. The AX content of the initial spelt bran reached 9.2% with an A/X ratio of 0.39. The initial spelt bran was rich in starch (41.2%) and protein (18.9%). WE- and WU-AXs from micronised spelt bran were extracted after improved enzymic destarching and deproteinisation treatments. WU-AXs were obtained by two successive extractions with 2% alkaline hydrogen peroxide at 60 degrees C during 4 h. 55% of the AX present in spelt bran was extracted by using the three extraction steps (WE- and WU-AXs), among AX, 13% were WE and 87% were WU. A/X ratios were different depending on the extraction process. WE-AXs were less rich in arabinose than WU-AXs. Each fraction contained two populations of AX. The first one consisted of low MW AX (7-8 kDa). The second population had a higher MW, 310-415 kDa for WU-AXs and 28 kDa for WE-AXs. The extracts had to be purified in order to improve the AX content. Results were compared to those obtained with wheat bran in the literature. This research was, to the best of our knowledge, the first study on AX extraction from spelt bran. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.