PhD defence Inge Byg Chrestensen : 2. februar 2012 (Lecture Hall A1-01.01)

Time and venue

Thursday 2 February 2012 at 1 pm

Lecture Hall A1-01.01 (1-01), Bülowsvej 17, Frederiksberg

 

Title of PhD thesis

Extraction and application of rhamnogalacturonan I

 

Summary

Potato pulp is produced in large amounts as waste material from potato starch production. Utilizing this waste material for production of a novel high value product has been investigated in this thesis, and the high content of pectin in potato pulp was utilized for this purpose. A gentle enzymatic extraction procedure for isolation of the pectic fragment rhamnogalacturonan I (RG I) was developed. The developed procedure enabled isolation of RG I in undegraded form and in high yields. The isolated RG I and modified versions of RG I were hereafter investigated for different functionalities and application potentials. RG I was investigated as a potential prebiotic, as coating material for surgical meshes, and as a potential anti-cancer agent. RG I exhibited excellent potentials in all of the investigated application areas, and the results clearly demonstrate that there are great possibilities in upgrading potato pulp from waste material to raw material

 

Opponents

Henk Schols, Dr. Agrotechnology and Food Sciences, Wageningen University,

The Netherlands

 

Jørn Dalgaard Mikkelsen, Professor, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, DTU, Denmark

 

Naomi Geshi, Associate Professor (chair), Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

 

Principal Supervisor

Peter Ulvskov, Professor

Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

 

Supplementary Supervisors

Claus Rolin, Research Fellow, CP Kelco, Denmark

Gitte Lynglev Budolfsen, Science Manager, Novozymes A/S, Denmark

 

 

All are welcome!

Peter Ulvskov