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ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Commodity Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #255760
Title: Enzymatic analysis of mannitol as a leuconostoc mesenteroides deterioration marker in sugarcane and sugar beet factories

Author
item Eggleston, Gillian
item Gober, Jessica
item Alexander, Clay

Submitted to: American Chemistry Society Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/1/2010
Publication Date: 12/18/2010
Citation: Eggleston, G., Gober, J, Alexander, C. 2010. Enzymatic analysis of mannitol as a leuconostoc mesenteroides deterioration marker in sugarcane and sugar beet factories. In: Eggleston, G. editor. Sustainability of the Sugar and Sugar-Ethanol Industries, ACS Symposium Series 1058. Washington, DC: American Chemical Society. p. 207-227.

Interpretive Summary: Sugarcane and sugar beet deterioration can still be a major technologocial constraint in processing, and better control of deterioration will contribute to the sustainability of the sugar industry. In recent years it has emerged that mannitol (a small chain sugar alcohol) is a major deterioration product of both sugarcane and sugar beet and a sensitive marker that can predict processing problems. An enzymatic factory method that is rapid, simple, accurate, and inexpensive is has been improved and is now available to measure mannitol in consignment juices and molasses. The increasing awareness of how mannitol detrimentally affects processing, e.g., crystallization, is discussed.

Technical Abstract: Sugarcane and sugar beet deterioration can still be a major technologocial constraint in processing, and better control of deterioration will contribute to the sustainability of the industries. The major (but not sole) contributor to deterioration in the U.S. and many other countries, particularly where warm and humid conditions prevail, is infection by hetero-fermentative Leuconostoc mesenteroides lactic acid bacteria. In recent years it has emerged that mannitol is a major product of L. mesenteroides deterioration of both sugarcane and sugar beet and a sensitive marker that can predict processing problems. An enzymatic factory method that is rapid, simple, accurate, and inexpensive is now available to measure mannitol in consignment juices and molasses. Cost of juice preparation was improved considerably by using CeliteTM filter-aid and glass filters rather than PVDF microfilters. Precision and accuracy of the enzymatic method to measure low mannitol concentrations in sugar products were improved by spiking the buffer with mannitol and then calculating the final mannitol concentration by difference, although this was much better for diluted molasses than juice. Fructose up to 18% on a dissolved solids (Brix) basis was unequivocally shown not to interfere in the enzymatic determination of mannitol in both juices and molasses by comparing with gas and ion chromatography results. The increasing awareness of how mannitol detrimentally affects processing, e.g., crystallization, is discussed.