Efficient production of the rare sugar l-gulose using a wheat-bran culture extract of Penicillium sp. KU-1

Abstract

We found that l-gulose, a rare sugar, was produced from d-sorbitol efficiently, using a wheat-bran culture extract of the fungus Penicillium sp. KU-1 isolated from soil. The culture extract showed enzyme activity for the oxidation of d-sorbitol to produce l-gulose; a high production yield of approximately 94% was achieved.

Keywords: Penicillium; l-gulose; rare sugar.