Abstract
Lactose is the major disaccharide found in milk, and is catabolized into glucose and galactose by the enzyme lactase. Lactose is an important energy source and ssometimes it is referred to simply as milk sugar, as it is present in high percentages in dairy products. Lactose is the primary source of carbohydrates during mammal development, and represents 40% of the energy consumed during the nursing period. Lactose-intolerance individuals have a lactase deficiency; therefore, lactose is not completely catabolized. Lactose intolerance is a significant factor in the choice of diet for many sick people, therefore its content in foods must be monitored to avoid disorders and illnesses. This has created the need to develop simple methods, such as polarimetry, gravimetric, middle infrared, differential pH and enzymatic monitoring, but all these methods are time-consuming, because they required extensive sample preparation and cannot differentiate individual sugars. In order to quantify low levels of lactose, new and more accurate analytical methods have been developed. Generally, they require equipment such as HPLC or High Performance Anion Exchange with Pulsed Amperometric Detection (HPAE-PAD).
Highlights
Council for Agriculture Research and Analysis of the Agrarian Economy, Research Center CREA-Food and Academic Editor: Alessandra Durazzo
Lactose is the major disaccharide found in milk, and is catabolized into glucose and galactose by the enzyme lactase
Lactose is the primary source of carbohydrates during mammal development, and represents 40% of the energy consumed during the nursing period
Summary
Milk and dairy products represent a food category of absolute centrality in the diet of the Italian population. Milk is a complex fluid foodstuff secreted by the breast glands of female mammals. It is a complete food, since it contains most the necessary nutrients to sustain the life and growth of a newborn. 10%, depending on the mammal [2], and they are represented almost exclusively by lactose (98% of the sugars present in milk), which is not found in any other food, and is important for the development of the nervous tissue in the first few months of life. Lactose is synthesized in the mammary tissue from the conversion of a part of the glucose present in the blood to galactose This synthesis involves the complex lactose synthetase, which is provided by the galactosyltransferase and α-lactalbumin [5].
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