Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
have been investigated for use in the surfactant industry. Lactobionic acid
N-alkylamides have been proposed for use in corrosion inhibition.
5.8.6.
Tagatose
The main use of tagatose is as a sweetener with a low calorific content.
Its main market appears to be in diabetic foods, as it does not increase blood
glucose or insulin levels, and it has a very low GI value. It may also be useful
in weight loss diets to help overcome widespread obesity in Western human
populations. It has the advantage of being of similar sweetness to sucrose, but
with a low contribution to energy supply.
Tagatose has some potential as a prebiotic carbohydrate, but evi-
dence for its effectiveness relative to competing products is not yet
available. Its ability to be fermented in the colon to produce enhanced
concentrations of butyrate is of interest in relation to colonic cancers,
and this requires further investigation (Bertlesen et al., 1999; Topping
and Clifton, 2001).
5.9.
Physiological and Health Effects
A major driver for the development of lactose derivatives has been the
identification of numerous physiological properties beneficial to health.
Some of these physiological effects have therapeutic value for specific dis-
orders while other properties are potentially beneficial to the population at
large. Hence, lactose derivatives have found applications both as pharmaceu-
ticals and as functional food ingredients. Despite a diversity of chemical
structures, the lactose derivates developed to date share a number of common
physiological traits important to their health benefits. These molecules are
universally
non-digestible
non-metabolizable
poorly fermented by bacteria in the mouth
fermented by bacteria in the intestinal tract.
These physiological characteristics contribute to health benefits both at
specific sites in the body and systemically. The benefits demonstrated, or
proposed, include prevention of dental caries, roles in weight management,
improved defecation frequency and consistency and a range of other effects
stemming from modification of the composition and/or activity of the intest-
inal microbiota (prebiotic effects). Of course, differences in the chemical
structures of the various lactose derivatives also mean that they have differing
specific actions and potencies. The following sections outline the known and
