Glucosyltransferase produced by strain Erwinia sp. is an intracellular enzyme that catalyzes the formation of isomaltulose from sucrose. Isomaltulose is a non-cariogenic reducing dissacharide commercially used in foods. Response surface methodology and 2³-factorial central composite design were employed to optimize a fermentation medium for the production of glucosyltransferase by Erwinia sp. in shaken flasks at 200 rpm and 30ºC. The three variables involved in this study were sugar cane molasses (SCM), corn steep liquor (CSL) and yeast extract Prodex Lac SD (YEP). The statistical analysis of the results showed that, in the range studied, all the factors had a significant effect on glucosyltransferase production and the optimum medium composition for enzyme production was (in g l-1) SCM-100, CSL-60 and YEP-8, which lead to a glucosyltransferase activity of 6.65 U mL-1.
glucosyltransferase; isomaltulose; optimization; response surface
