Novel process for extraction of xylan and xylo-oligosaccharides from Palmaria palmata

[Excerpt] Introduction Xylan, the second most abundant plant polysaccharide on Earth, is a component of numerous plants including macroalgae. This polysaccharide, and in particular its breakdown products, xylo-oligosaccharides and xylose, are of much industrial interest with potential for application in the food, feed, industrial, chemical, pharmaceutical, and medical fields. Nevertheless, these compounds remain underexploited, partially as a result of an unavailability of sustainable, environmentally friendly methods for their production at high levels in a purified form. We have developed and optimised a simplified high yielding method for the efficient extraction of these compounds from the red macroalga Palmaria palmata.[...]