Membrane technology for the purification of enzymatically produced oligosaccharides

Prebiotic oligosaccharides are short-chain carbohydrates that are not degraded by the enzymes of the human digestive tract. These molecules arrive intact to the lower gut to be selectively fermented by the probiotic bacteria, promoting several healthy effects to those who consume them. Prebiotic oligosaccharides are compounds of different nature: they can be extracted from plant tissues, principally by enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocelullosic material, or by using transglycosilation reactions mediated by carbohydrases. Regardless of their manufacturing strategy, the resulting solution is a mixture of oligosaccharides with different degree of polymerization as well as other not-desired contaminants of different molecular size that must be removed for improving the product purity. Therefore, membrane technology may offer interesting alternatives for such purpose. This chapter reports the main technological challenges, mechanisms, and advances, as well as trends and perspectives regarding the use of membrane technology as a strategy for manufacturing and purifying enzymatically produced oligosaccharides.