Abstract
This research deals with the production of water-soluble polysaccharides from six polysaccharide-producing Penicillium species. Eup. pinetorum ATCC 14770 was promising for exo- and endopolysaccharides production under various cultural conditions. pH 5.0, 7days, and pH 8.0, 10days, were the optimum for the production of exo- and endopolysaccharides, respectively, at 30 degrees C in medium containing glucose and peptone. HPLC results revealed that both polysaccharides were composed of pectin, cellulose and hemicellulose. Exopolysaccharides produced by Eup.pinetorum was subjected to evaluation as a natural flavour stabiliser in cloudy apple juice (CAJ). Twenty-one volatile compounds classified into esters, aldehydes, alcohols and ketone were detected, only eighteen compounds of which were characterised by their odours threshold. The esters and alcohols are accounting for 87.64% and 5.44% of total volatiles, respectively. This study indicates that the use of exopolysaccharides as an alternative flavour stabiliser in CAJ is very promising.