Recently, the demand for functional sweetener is continually increasing to substitute sugar because eating sugary foods can lead to cavities and obesity. Many people want to enjoy sweets without health concern. Tagatose is a C4 epimer of fructose which is a naturally occurring sweetener and found in fruits and dairy products. It has very similar sweetness and sensory profile with processed sugar, while its glycemic index is very low and calorie value is only 1.5 kcal/g. The potential for application is also powerful due to its various attractive functional characteristics. However, tagatose exist in extremely small amount in nature and therefore mass production is necessary to commercialize it. An enzymatic process to achieve production of tagatose from lactose was described. Two enzymatic processes are involved in this system. Lactose is hydrolyzed into galactose and glucose by �-galactosidase and then galactose can be converted into tagatose by L-arabinose isomerase. We have been improved enzymatic properties to enhance activity and thermostability. The microbial host system is improved to maximize enzyme expression level as well.  Detail process and our stories for the development will be presented.

Commercial production of tagatose, a healthy functional food ingredient, by stepwise enzymatic process

245th National Meeting (2013)

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