There are many types of prebiotics, including oligosaccharides, polysaccharides, plant Chinese herbal extracts, protein hydrolyzates and polyols. The mass-produced prebiotics are mainly some oligosaccharides with bifidogenic function. Prebiotics have been widely used in various foods, such as yogurt, milk drinks, fruit juice drinks, baked goods, breakfast cereals, baby food, etc. Although consumers' awareness of it is not as high as that of probiotics, the market of prebiotics is showing a good growth trend as more and more scientific data support the function of prebiotics to promote intestinal health. 8
Internationally, functional oligosaccharides were developed earlier in Japan and have the most varieties. Most of them are synthesized by enzymatic methods, and natural extracts are in the minority. Fructooligosaccharides entered the market in 1983, isomaltooligosaccharides entered the market in 1985, and galactooligosaccharides entered the market in 1988. In recent years, trehalose and Aspergillus niger oligosaccharides have been launched one after another. The functional oligosaccharides on the Japanese market mainly include isomaltose, galactooligosaccharides, fructooligosaccharides, xylo-oligosaccharides, lactulose oligosaccharides, lactulose, soybean oligosaccharides, raffinose, Aspergillus niger low More than ten varieties of polysaccharides, with an annual output of 30,000-40,000 tons and an annual sales of 13 billion yen. Among all the health food products, there are 61 kinds of products prepared from functional oligosaccharides for adjusting intestinal function, accounting for the first place in the total number of varieties. 8
European countries such as Belgium, France, and the Netherlands have also developed oligosaccharides for many years. The main varieties are fructooligosaccharides and galactooligosaccharides. The raw materials for fructooligosaccharide production are different from those in Japan. Inulin (a fructan with a higher degree of polymerization, with an average degree of polymerization of 7-60, mainly soluble dietary fiber) is extracted from chicory, a plant material, and then enzymatically degraded to low polyfructose. The yield of enzymatic synthesis with sucrase is low. Europe developed oligosaccharides, mainly using their indigestibility, as fat substitutes and dietary fibers for low-calorie foods. 8
The research on oligosaccharides in my country began in the 1980s. But the formation of industrial scale and commercialization, then to the "Ninth Five-Year" period. Isomaltooligosaccharide is produced by amylase method. In 1995, the industrial trial production was completed by Wuxi Candy Factory. In 1996, the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Shandong Baolingbao established a professional isomaltose factory with an annual output of 2,000 tons in Yucheng, Shandong. In 1997, Jiangnan University of South Wuxi cooperated with a company in Yunnan, and the first company was put into production in Kunming. The annual production capacity of various oligosaccharides is 50,000 tons, and the actual annual output is 20,000-30,000 tons. The main varieties are isomaltooligosaccharides, fructooligosaccharides, xylo-oligosaccharides, mannose oligosaccharides, soybean oligosaccharides, chitosan, stachyose and so on. Most of them are synthesized by enzymatic methods, and natural extracts are in the minority. However, the actual annual output of enterprises with an annual output of 10,000 tons is isomaltose, and the annual output of 1,000 tons of oligofructose is the annual output of other varieties. limited. Functional oligosaccharides have been widely used as ingredients in various domestic beverages and foods. Among the health food, the health food approved by the Ministry of Health of our country to improve the intestinal laxative function, the oligosaccharides used are fructooligosaccharide, isomaltose, mannose oligosaccharide, soybean oligosaccharide, etc.; The regulated health food has chitosan