Purification of inositol from plant materials
AssigneeMCN Bioproducts Inc.
InventorsRex Newkirk, David Maenz, Henry Classen
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Abstract
Phytate and/or phytin and/or phytic acid in an aqueous slurry of plant mateiral is partially hydrolyzed by incubating the slurry with an enzyme product enriched in phytase. The soluble fraction of the slurry is separated into anionic and neutral fractions. The anionic fraction is then hydrolyzed further, and the hydrolyzate is separated into second ionic and neutral fractions. The second neutral fraction thus obtained is rich in inositol, and does not contain significant quantities of other sugars which would be hard to separate from it.
Claims20
A process for producing inositol from plant materials comprising the steps of:
- (a) treating an aqueous slurry of plant material with a phytase enzyme to partially hydrolyze at least one of phytate, phytic acid and phytin to inositol phosphates, under conditions which do not promote full hydrolysis to inositol.
- (b) separating said slurry into a water soluble fraction and a water-insoluble fraction:
- (c) separating said water soluble fraction into a first ionic fraction which contains anionic components comprising inositol phosphates and a first other fraction which contains the neutral components;
- (d) hydrolysing the inositol phosphates in said first ionic fraction;
- and
- (e) separating the hydrolyzed first ionic fraction into a second ionic fraction and a second neutral fraction which contains inositol.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.