A novel cyclic isomaltooligosaccharide (cycloisomaltodecaose, CI-10) produced by Bacillus circulans T-3040 displays remarkable inclusion ability compared with cyclodextrins.

Cyclodextrans (CIs) are cyclic isomaltooligosaccharides and only CI-7, CI-8, and CI-9 were known. CI-7, CI-8, and CI-9, consisting of seven, eight, and nine glucoses, respectively, bound by alpha-(1-->6) linkages, are known to be produced by T-3040 strain of Bacillus circulans. However, we have found, using 13C NMR and mass spectrometry, that this strain also produces CI-10, CI-11 and CI-12. These large CIs are very soluble in water and inhibit the glucan synthesis of glucansucrases to the same degree as do the smaller CIs. The CIs were thought to be poor at forming inclusion complexes with chemical compounds, due to their flexible alpha-(1-->6)-glucosidic structure. Among these six CIs, CI-10 was much better at forming an inclusion complex, and it ability to do so was as good as cyclodextrins, as determined by its ability to stabilize the color of Victoria blue B. Therefore, CI-10 may be the most commercially useful CI.