Selection and Utilization of Agro-industrial Waste for Biosynthesis and Hyper-Production of Pullulan: A Review

Abstract

The emergence of modern microbial technology and product biotechnology had significantly made over the way, scientists and researchers view differently the microbes and the product they biosynthesize. Pullulan is one of the most potent bio-compatible polymers which is basically synthesized by the Aureobasidium pullulans. This microbial pullulan acts as the promising biomaterial that is currently used for packaging of readily oxidized food materials, controlled drug delivery, tissue engineering and can also function as artificial molecular chaperones. Commercial pullulan is expensive. It was also estimated that the cost of pullulan is three times higher than the other polysaccharides. However, the cost of the raw materials required for pullulan production accounts for 30% of the total production costs. Therefore, it is essential to search out the cheapest substrate for the production of pullulan. From 1999 till date, different groups of researcher had found and reported various carbon source and nitrogen source from the waste products to be utilized for pullulan production. This review attempts to critically appraise the current literature on ‘pullulan’ considering its microbial sources and utilization of various agro-industrial wastes for pullulan production.