Production of soya milk containing low flatulence-causing oligosaccharides in a packed bed reactor using immobilised α-galactosidase

Peanut α-galactosidase was immobilised in calcium alginate beads and used to hydrolyse the flatulence-causing oligosaccharides, raffinose and stachyose, in soya milk in batch and in packed bed reactor with recycle. The immobilised enzyme exhibited a slightly lower activity than the free enzyme. The activity yield of immobilised -galactosidase was 75.1% and the immobilisation yield was 82.6%. Batch hydrolysis using immobilised enzyme at 55 °C resulted in 96% reduction in the oligosaccharides after 12 h. For the continuous process, a packed bed reactor with recycle was used. More than 98% of the oligosaccharides were hydrolysed after 6 h of reaction at 55 °C. The immobilised enzyme also proved to be stable up to three repeated hydrolysis reactions