Commercially available oligosaccharides

Abstract

Many oligosaccharides have been shown to have bifidogenic properties. More than companies worldwide produce oligosaccharides commercially. Most of these are located in Japan. The oligosaccharides produced in greatest quantity are lactulose, and galacto-, fructo-, and isomalto-oligosaccharides. Other oligosaccharides produced are: malto-, xylo-, gentio-, and soybean-oligosaccharides, lactosucrose, glycosyl sucrose, cyclodextrins, and palatinose. Worldwide oligosaccharide production in 1995 is estimated to exceed 85000 tonnes. Most companies produce several purity grades of their oligosaccharide mixture, either as a powder or as a syrup. About half of the total production is used in beverages. Other major uses are in infant milk powders, confectionery (candies), and dairy desserts. Lactosucrose (Hayashibara, Ensuiko), lactulose (Solvay, Morinaga), and galacto-oligosaccharides (Yakult, Snow Brand, Nissin, Borculo) are all produced from lactose. The large potential for the use of oligosaccharides in the food industry provides an opportunity for the dairy industries.