Xylanases for Food Applications

The development of new food products, improvement in food quality, and ease of food production process is of prime concern with the growing world population and rapidly rising demand for functional foods. These concerns make it imperative, the use of various enzymes such as glycoside hydrolases, lipases, proteases, transglutaminases, etc., in the processing of food and food ingredients. Crops and fruits used in food and brewing industry contain considerable amount of xylan. Xylan is a branched heteropolysaccharide and its main chain is composed of xylose subunits linked by β-(1 → 4) glycosidic bonds and contains different substitutions in the side chain. Xylanase cleaves β-(1 → 4) glycosidic bonds in heteroxylan randomly and converts it into xylooligosaccharides. In the last decade, xylanase has received appreciable attention owing to its applications in various food processing industries such as cereal food processing for the improvement of gluten agglomeration, baking industry for the improved texture of bread and cookies, clarification of fruit juices, production of xylooligosaccharide or arabinoxylooligosaccharides as prebiotic food supplements. This chapter presents a comprehensive overview of xylanase, its sources, production, and applications in food production and processing, with a particular focus on recent developments.