Ozone assisted autohydrolysis of wheat bran enhances xylooligosaccharide production with low generation of inhibitor compounds: A comparative study

•Ozone assisted autohydrolysis (OAAH) investigated for XOS production.•OAAH XOS yield was found to be 8.90% (w/w) in comparison to 7.96% with AH alone.•OAAH significantly decreased inhibitors (furfural, HMF, acetic acid and acrylamide).•OAAH is an effective chemical residue free pre-treatment for XOS production. In the present study, ozone assisted autohydrolysis (OAAH) was evaluated for enhanced generation of xylooligosaccharide (XOS) from wheat bran. The total XOS yield with optimum ozone dose of 3% (OAAH-3) was found to be 8.9% (w/w biomass) at 110 °C in comparison to 7.96% at 170 °C by autohydrolysis (AH) alone. Although, there was no significant difference in oligomeric composition (DP 2–6), significant decrease in degradation products namely furfural (2.78-fold), HMF (3.15-fold), acrylamide (nil) and acetic acid (1.06-fold), was observed with OAAH-3 as a pretreatment option. There was 1-fold higher xylan to XOS conversion and OAAH-hydrolysate had higher DPPH radical scavenging activity than AH. PCA plots indicated clear enhancement in XOS production and lower generation of inhibitors with decrease in treatment temperature. Results of the study therefore suggest OAAH can be an effective pretreatment option that can further be integrated with downstream processing for concentration and purification of XOS.