Pullulan

Pullulan

Names
Other names E1204
Identifiers
CAS Number	9057-02-7 Y
ChemSpider	none
EC Number	232-945-1
UNII	8ZQ0AYU1TT Y
Properties
Chemical formula	(C6H10O5)n
Appearance	White powder
Solubility in water	Soluble
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). N verify (what is YN ?) Infobox references

Pullulan is a polysaccharide polymer consisting of maltotriose units, also known as α-1,4- ;α-1,6-glucan'. Three glucose units in maltotriose are connected by an α-1,4 glycosidic bond, whereas consecutive maltotriose units are connected to each other by an α-1,6 glycosidic bond. Pullulan is produced from starch by the fungus Aureobasidium pullulans. Pullulan is mainly used by the cell to resist desiccation and predation. The presence of this polysaccharide also facilitates diffusion of molecules both into and out of the cell.

As an edible, mostly tasteless polymer, the chief commercial use of pullulan is in the manufacture of edible films that are used in various breath freshener or oral hygiene products such as Listerine Cool Mint of Johnson and Johnson (USA) and Meltz Super Thin Mints of Avery Bio-Tech Private Ltd. (India). Pullulan and HPMC can also be used as a vegetarian substitute for drug capsules, rather than gelatine. As a food additive, it is known by the E number E1204.

See also

• Pullulanase
• Desiccation

References

• Characteristics of pullulan based edible films (abstract)
• Pullulan
• pullulan at the US National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
• Pullulan chemical diagram

Further reading

• Saman Zarei; Faramarz Khodaiyan; Seyed Saeid Hosseini; John F. Kennedy. (October 2020) "Pullulan Production Using Molasses and Corn Steep Liquor as Agroindustrial Wastes: Physiochemical, Thermal and Rheological Properties". Applied Food Biotechnology, Vol. 7 No. 4 (2020), 18 August 2020 , Page 263-272. https://doi.org/10.22037/afb.v7i4.29747