Improvements in enzymatic preparation of alkyl glycosides

Three glycosides of middle chain aliphatic alcohols (hexanol and heptanol) were prepared by enzymatic glycosidation. The preparation of hexyl β-D-glucopyranoside was achieved in moderate yields via reverse hydrolysis catalysed by defatted meals from almond, apricot, and peach kernels. The apricot meal as a cheap source of β-glucosidase was found to have catalytic efficiency resembling to that of the almond meal. Hexyl and heptyl β-D-galactopyranosides were prepared from D-lactose by transgalactosidation catalysed by commercial β-galactosidases from Aspergillus oryzae in two-phase system. The improvement of the product yields was achieved by a simple replacement of the organic phase (serving as a pool of acceptor alcohol and extracted product) with a fresh portion of the acceptor.