Microbial Fermentation or Enzymatic Production of Steviol Glycosides Technology Project

INGVIA Microbial fermentation or enzymatic production of Steviol Glycosides technology project (key project)

Project Introduction

The technology belongs to the field of microbial industrial fermentation. This technology can be used for the production of steviol glycosides (such as rebaudioside A, D, M, etc.) by microbial fermentation or enzymatic conversion. Steviol glycoside is a kind of natural sweetener with high sweetness and low calorie extracted from plants. It is widely used as a substitute for sucrose because of its high sweetness, low calorific value, multiple functions, economy and safety. In beverages, food, alcohol, medicine and other fields. Steviol glycoside is 200 to 400 times sweeter than sucrose, and its calorific value is only 1/300 of that of sucrose. It is known as a "zero-calorie natural sweetener" and is very suitable for diabetics, pregnant women and children. edible. At present, steviol glycosides are obtained by separation and purification from Stevia rebaudiana, but the extracted steviol glycosides are mixtures with low purity, and have disadvantages such as astringent taste and aftertaste, and some steviol glycosides, such as rebaudioside A, D, M, etc., with the advantages of pure taste, good taste and higher sweetness, are high-end products of steviol glycosides. Rebaudioside A was approved for use as a food additive in the United States and Europe in 2008 and 2011. At the end of 2008, Rebaudioside A coffee sachets were launched in the U.S. market. At present, there are many products in the market that are well received by consumers. Favorite brand. The global market of rebaudioside A has reached about 1.5 billion US dollars per year. It is a market that has just started and has broad development space. However, the content of rebaudioside A in Stevia is only about 3% of the dry weight of leaves, while the content of rebaudioside D and M is lower, so the cost of extraction and finishing is high.

This technology utilizes the method of synthetic biology to construct various genes required for the biosynthesis of Rebaudioside A into Escherichia coli, and establishes a new type of Rebaudioside A fermentation with easily available raw materials, safe production and simple extraction method. production method. And on the basis of rebaudioside A, rebaudioside D and Rebaudioside M can be further obtained. In this technology, products such as rebaudioside A, D, and M can be directly obtained by fermenting monosaccharides such as glucose as substrates, or rebaudioside D and M can be obtained by fermenting commercially available low-purity rebaudioside A as raw material. and other products.

China is the world's largest producer and exporter of stevia. In 2009, the general sales volume of stevia exceeded 2,600 tons. Rebaudioside A, D, M, etc., as products with better performance among steviol glycosides, if the production cost can be greatly reduced, they will have the potential to replace the current mixed steviol glycoside products and be used in beverages, high-sugar foods, Alcohol, aquatic products, dairy products, functional foods, cigarettes, medicine and health, daily products, cosmetics and many other fields have broad industrialization and development prospects.

This project is currently in the pilot stage.

Technical advantages

• A platform technology for biosynthesis of rebaudioside A has been established, and a variety of rebaudioside products can be further synthesized on this basis;

• Compared with the prior art, it has the advantages of low cost, high product purity, short production cycle, not restricted by raw materials, etc., avoiding the bitterness and unpleasant aftertaste produced by other interfering components in the Stevia Extraction process of stevia, It overcomes the shortcomings of traditional extraction from plants, such as being cumbersome, being greatly affected by the environment, and destroying natural resources;

• With independent intellectual property rights.