Research Article
Pınar OÃ
Abstract
Pullulan is one of such polymers synthesized by the yeast-like fungus Aureobasidium pullulans. Pullulan is a linear a-D-glucan built of maltotriose subunits, connected by (1-6)-a-D-glucosidic linkages. Pullulan is an important exopolysaccharide having applications in several industrial sectors like pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic industries. In addition to recently pullulan is also being investigated for its biomedical applications in various aspects like targeted drug and gene delivery, tissue engineering, wound healing and in diagnostic imaging using quantum dots. Pullulan is being used extensively in the food industry as a food ingredient for over 20 years in Japan, and has Generally Regarded As Safe (GRAS) status in the USA. Pullulan, which is generally materialized with microbial origin in food the production has widely usage as a coating agent in food formulations and packaging industry owing to its numerous properties. Despite the large number of uses, some of the problems associated with fermentative production of pullulan are (i) the formation of a melanin pigment; (ii) the inhibitory effects caused by high sugar concentrations in the medium; and (iii) the high cost associated with pullulan precipitation and recovery. In this review, general properties of pullulan, pullulan production, usage of pullulan in food industry were examined.