Cereal Fructans: Hydrolysis by Yeast Invertase, In Vitro and During Fermentation 

 -  Journal of Cereal Science, 6(1), p.53-60, 1987 .
<br/><br/> Cereal fructans were isolated from wheat flour and fractionated into trio, tetra-, penta- and the higher molecular weight oligo- and polysaccharides. These five fructan fractions were used as substrates for both commercial invertase and bakers' yeast and were compared with sucrose and inulin. Optimal pH for hydrolysis with invertase was in the range 4·5 to 5·0 for all substrates except inulin, which showed an optimum pH at 6·0. The hydrolytic activity of both invertase and bakers' yeast towards the various fructan oligomers decreased with an increase in their molecular size. In comparison with sucrose, the five fructa.n fractions were hydrolysed at the following rates: tri- (14-17