Abstract
The enzyme β-galactosidase can be obtained from a wide variety of sources such as microorganisms, plants, and animals. The use of β-galactosidase for the hydrolysis of lactose in milk and whey is one of the promising enzymatic applications in food and dairy processing industries. The enzyme can be used in either soluble or immobilized forms but the soluble enzyme can be used only for batch processes and the immobilized form has the advantage of being used in batch wise as well as in continuous operation. Immobilization has been found to be convenient method to make enzyme thermostable and to prevent the loss of enzyme activity. This review has been focused on the different types of techniques used for the immobilization of β-galactosidase and its potential applications in food industry.
Highlights
The enzyme β-galactosidase (EC.3.2.1.23), most commonly known as lactase, which hydrolyses lactose into its monomers that is glucose and galactose has potential applications in food processing industry
Response surface methodology has been applied in the production of βgalactosidase using K. lactis NRRL Y-8279 [48] and maximum specific enzyme activity of 4218.4 U g−1was obtained at the optimum levels of process variables
The comparison of the various methods of immobilization of β-galactosidase from Thermus aquaticus indicated that immobilization by cross-linking followed by entrapment in agarose beads can be beneficial for high enzyme loading with good activity yield [59]
Summary
The enzyme β-galactosidase (EC.3.2.1.23), most commonly known as lactase, which hydrolyses lactose into its monomers that is glucose and galactose has potential applications in food processing industry. Treatment of milk and milk products with lactase to reduce their lactose content seems to be an appropriate method to increase their potential uses and to deal with the problems of lactose insolubility and lack of sweetness. This treatment could make milk, a most suitable food, available to a large number of adults and children that are lactose intolerant. The enzyme β-galactosidase can be used in transglycosylation of lactose to synthesize galacto-oligosaccharides (GOSs) These were widely recognized as the nondigestible oligosaccharides, not hydrolyzed or absorbed in the upper intestinal tract, and they pass onto the colon where they are fermented selectively by beneficial intestinal bacteria. Nowadays, immobilized βgalactosidase is intensively being used in lactose hydrolysis of milk/whey and has been tested for the production of galactooligosaccharides
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