Note
A Novel Viscous Extracellular Polysaccharide Containing Fatty Acids from Rhodococcus rhodochrous ATCC 53968
2004 Volume 18 Issue 1 Pages 15-17
Details
2004 Volume 18 Issue 1 Pages 15-17
An extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) prepared from Rhodococcus rhodochrous ATCC 53968 was found to show high viscosity as a dilute aqueous solution. The reduced viscosity of the dilute aqueous solution of the EPS was 13.9 dl/g, (1.39 m3/kg) representing higher viscosity than that of widely used thickeners such as carboxymethyl cellulose and hydroxyethyl cellulose. The EPS produced by R. rhodochrous ATCC 53968 was found to be an acidic polysaccharide containing galactose, glucose, fucose, and glucuronic acid at a molar ratio of 3: 2: 2: 2. In addition, 1.3% (W/W) stearic acid, 4.1% (W/W) palmitic acid, and 5.8% (W/W) pyruvic acid were also contained in the EPS. These data indicate that this EPS is a novel viscous biopolymer, suggesting the possibility of its application as a thickener.
