Microbial Enzymes for Production of Fructooligosaccharides

The increase in the demand for healthier food with a less polluting impact on the environment has generated significant interest in the production and consumption of prebiotics obtained through biotechnological processes. Fructooligosaccharides (FOs) are small non-digestible carbohydrates with a high nutritional value due to their prebiotic properties. Traditionally, FOs were extracted from some plants, presenting a low yield for their production on an industrial scale. However, the biotransformation of FOs mediated by microbial enzymes has great potential due to its easy adaptation to industrial scale, revealing a high interest in the food and pharmaceutical industry. This chapter presents the different microbial enzymes involved in FOs production, describing their biochemical mechanisms and enzyme action characteristics with different substrates. It details the different sources for microbial production of enzymes and shows the new strategies of enzymatic application for the biotechnological development of FO production on an industrial scale. In addition, the global market industry, patent landscape, and innovation of these processes are described.