Cereal Chem 50:169 - 175.  |  VIEW ARTICLE
Reactions of Oligosaccharides. IV. Fermentability by Yeasts.

K. K. Shieh, B. J. Donnelly, and B. L. Scallet. Copyright 1973 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

The anaerobic fermentation of a series of D-glucose polymers, namely G2, G3, G4, G5, G6, G7, and G8 by brewers' yeast and bakers' yeasts, was examined. The oligosaccharides were isolated from corn (maize) starch hydrolysates by macro paper chromatography. Neither the bakers' nor brewers' yeast tested was able to ferment oligosaccharides higher than G3, nor did the presence of glucose stimulate their fermentation. The presence of glucose did, however, stimulate all yeast samples to ferment G2 (maltose) and G3 (maltotroise). G2 also promoted the fermentation of G3. Fermentation of the glucose-maltose, glucose- maltotriose, and maltose-maltotriose sugar mixtures was incomplete. Reasons for this and for the inability of the yeasts to ferment oligosaccarides higher than maltotriose are discussed.