PULLULAN (KOPULAN) AND ITS APPLICATION Pullulan is a biopolymer with unique and interesting properties.

It is basically a polysaccharide produced by the fermentation of carbohydrate (starch/sugar) by Aureobasidium pullulans. INCI name: Pullulan Ubiquitous yeast like fungus. Chemically, it consists of repeated unit of CAS No: 9057-02-7 maltotriose units where three glucose units in maltotriose are connected by Molecular formula: (C6H12O5)n an -1,4 glycosidic bond and consecutive maltotriose units are connected to each other by an -1,6 glycosidic bond. This typical linkage pattern in fact render some distinctive physical traits which are different from many known polysaccharide, one interesting characteristic it posses is high adhesion properties, which tend to form strong film with oxygen impermeable ability. Pullulan is a white to off white powder and is flavorless, odorless tasteless and extremely stable. It is non toxic and non immunogenic in nature and readily dissolves in water and at 5-10% it forms a non-hygroscopic viscous solution. Its viscosity is comparatively lower than many polysaccharides and it equivalent to gum Arabic. Its viscosity high in lower concentration and remains constant to relatively high concentration and does not form a gel. It decomposes at 250C -- 280C. Being a versatile polysaccharide it has wide and interesting application in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry with a technology platform for innovation.

Pullulan in food Being a non starch polysaccharide it can be used in food primarily as binder and thickener. Due to its low viscosity pullulan can also be used as low viscosity filler in beverages and sauces. Its adhesive nature is exploited for making of confectioneries like, chocolates, candies, nut cookies, lollipop toffee etc, also as protective glazing agent in food product. It can also be used as low calorie additive and prebiotic because in the gut amylase is resistance to Pullulan therefore it is partially digested resulting in isomaltose, which help in growth of beneficial bacteria specially bifidobacterium. As low calorie food Pullulan can be added as partial replacement for starch in pasta, baked foods, bread, biscuit and noodles etc. Pullulan as food additive have been extensively used in Japan since last 20 year and has GRAS status in USA while in Europe it has the E number E-1204 as food additive. Pullulan in cosmetics

Pullulan also has wide application as additive and thickener in cosmetic formulation by providing smoothness due to its stable viscous nature in wide range of pH, to heating, in most metal ion including sodium chloride. Pullulan has film forming ability. Also it is has characteristics like water solubility, dispersibility, moisture absorptivity, tackiness and toxicity. These properties of Pullulan helps to be used in various cosmetic formulations like lotion, shampoo, face pack, eyeliner, lipstick, powder, gel, mascara, shrub etc. The adherence nature of Pullulan helps considerably in tightening of the skin resulting in exhibiting strong antiaging effect. Being a biopolymer it also forms sheer film improving skin texture. Being viscous oil resistance and water soluble it can be easily washed away from the skin and maintaining freshness of the skin. Pullulan in Pharmaceuticals In pharmaceutical its film forming ability is exploited for making oral strip where colours flavour and functional ingredient can be entrapped in the film matrix and effectively stabilized. Further this film forming ability is also utilized for making of capsule and soft gel capsule. It can also be used as bulking agent in tablets. Pullulan coating of dietary supplement tablets and soft gel helps to maintain the stability of active ingredient which is prone to oxidation. It oxygen impermeability is 9 time better then gelatin capsule and 300 times better then HPMC capsule. Being fermentation based product it is considered veg etative and has no BSE issue. The capsule from Pullulan can be considered as vegetal, non starch, transparent, Gluten free, preservative free and non-GMO. Additionally pullulan and its derivative have also been used in photographic, lithographic, electronics and biomedical application (tissue engineering, wound healing). And future prospects for pullulan looks very promising with new innovative application coming into being and its availability and production increasing in a cost effective way. This article is written by Dr Lambit Kanwar. Dr Lambit is Head of Biotech products in Kumar Organic Products Ltd. Beside his work he likes to write about different natural and biotech products used as preservatives and skin care ingredients.