This review explores the diverse applications and health benefits of probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) through biotechnological applications in the food industry. While all LAB are indispensable for the production of fermented foods thanks to their ability to produce lactic acid and bacteriocins that act as natural preservatives, specific strains of probiotic LAB offer targeted health benefits. In addition to general benefits of LAB, probiotic strains significantly enhance gut microbiota, enhance human immunity, and exhibit antimicrobial properties. This review also delves into the mechanisms of action of probiotic LAB, focusing on adhesion, colonisation, and antioxidant production, emphasising their potential to advance nutritional innovations. Beyond food production, the broader category of LAB has transformative potential in industrial applications, particularly in the sugar industry, where their metabolic activity can improve sucrose extraction processes, promote microbial management, and reduce unwanted by-products. By understanding these aspects, the review underscores the importance of probiotic LAB in promoting health, efficiency, and sustainability across sectors.

The article describes the early history of sugar industry and sugar chemistry in the Czech Republic and the development of sugar chemistry teaching at the Prague Polytechnic, Czech Technical University and at the University of Chemistry and Technology Prague.

The development of separation technology based on continuous simulated moving bed chromatography in sugar technology is described. This is a potential economic alternative method both in terms of separation efficiency and process performance, and in terms of the high purity of the resulting products. This work focuses in detail on the isolation of mannose from natural polysaccharides, such as galactomannans; however, the developed procedures and equipment can be further applied to the separation of various liquid mixtures of carbohydrates. The main aim was to find optimal operating conditions for hydrolytic and separation steps of the whole technology. The obtained results provide a basic data set for further development of the industrial application.

Pectin oligosaccharides (POS) are suggested as novel candidates of prebiotics. This work deals with depolymerization of pectin using UV light/TiO2 under different temperatures and pH. Furthermore, the individual contribution of TiO2 and UV light on the overall pectin depolymerization is evaluated. The solution of pectin is prepared by mixing lemon peel powder pectin with distilled water in the magnetic stirrer. Subsequently, samples were characterized for the content of mono-, oligosaccharides and uronic acids by HPAEC-PAD.

This work deals with the discontinuous separation of mannitol on strongly basic anion exchanger from a solution, which modelled the composition of carbohydrates, contained in the celery stalks. The fractions obtained from the individual batch separations were analyzed by HPCEC/RI. Based on data from batch experiments, continuous separation was performed using computer simulation in Aspen Chromatography (TM). The batch separation confirmed the gain of pure mannitol fraction free of glucose, fructose and sucrose. Subsequently, the usability of the proposed continuous process for industrial applications was evaluated.

This article presents a literature review of works dealing with SMB chromatography. Trends and current applications of continuous SMB chromatography of carbohydrates are summarized. The procedure is particularly aimed at separation of mixtures of carbohydrates, mono- and oligosaccharides - glucose, fructose, galactose, mannose, sucrose, lactose and others, their isolation and purification as well as the production of fructose syrup.

The article presents a literary review concentrating on SMB chromatography; it summarises its trends and up-to-date applications. The research is particularly aimed at separation and production of rare carbohydrates, separation of fructooligosaccharides, separation of galactooligosaccharides, separation of lactose and oligosaccharides, separation of enantiomers, and isolation of betaine from molasses. In conclusion, the paper introduces a continuous chromatography station that makes it possible to test separation of carbohydrates and other substances.

Plant gums are widely used in various industries, due to their physico-chemical properties, especially the ability to bind water and form stable gels. In this work, the monosaccharide composition of hydrolysed galactomannan (H2SO4, TFA) contained in samples of selected plant gums, namely guar, carob, tara, cassia and fenugreek, was determined. The obtained monosaccharides were determined by the HPAEC-PAD method. The hydrolysis efficiency was then described by the yield of monosaccharides in the hydrolysates. FTIR spectra were measured for all samples at the same time before and after extraction of free carbohydrates.

Pectin oligosaccharides (POS) obtained from pectin substances have various health benefits. The main component of these POS is galacturonic acid. In this work, the lemon peel pectin solution was degraded in the presence of UV light, a TiO2 catalyst, and sulfuric acid (pH 4). The collected samples during degradation were filtered to eliminate pectin residues and analyzed for fucose, rhamnose, arabinose, galactose, glucose, mannose, xylose, fructose, sucrose, galacturonic, glucuronic, and iduronic acid using HPAEC-PAD.

The isolation of mannitol from natural sources, e.g. from plant extracts or broths, requires considerable time and effort. The separation of mannitol from aqueous solutions containing also glucose, fructose, and sucrose was tested using discontinuous preparative anion- and cation-exchange chromatography. The suitability of the application in the separation of carbohydrates and especially mannitol was tested under various conditions and using three different types of ion-exchangers. The effect of sorbent regeneration and modification on the separation was also examined using different concentrations and volumes of chemical agents. The fractions collected after the discontinuous chromatography were analysed on the content of mannitol by the high-performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD) method. The successful isolation of pure mannitol fraction, using water as a mobile phase and a combination of sodium chloride and hydroxide for sorbent regeneration, was achieved only on anion-exchange chromatography.

This paper represents a summary of most important research activities in sucrose crystallization, in which the Department of Carbohydrates and Cereals, part of the University of Chemistry and Technology (UCT) Prague, has been involved over the last 25 years. A wide range of these projects has been carried out in cooperation with other research institutes, universities and industrial partners. These activities can be divided into four main research areas that are interconnected and support each other. – Physical and chemical properties of sucrose and sugar solutions; – Growth kinetics of sugar crystals in pure and technical sugar solutions; – Simulation and mathematical modeling of new processes and technologies; – Experimental work for industry and cooperation with industrial partners.

The work is focused on discontinuous ion-exchange chromatographic separation of model solutions of glucose, fructose and sucrose of various concentrations, and of solutions of green syrup. Anion exchanger Dowex 550A (Dow, USA) and cation exchanger Amberjet 1500H (Rohm and Haas, Germany) were used. The samples were separated at different temperatures and flow rates. All fractions were analysed by HPAEC/PAD unit Dionex DX 600 (Dionex, USA). From the obtained preparative chromatograms, the influence of operating parameters and measurement conditions on the efficiency of sucrose separation was subsequently evaluated.

Separation of salts and saccharides from their mixtures is common chemical-engineering problem to be dealt with. Frequently used techniques are membrane separation or electro-dialysis. Simulated Moving Bed (SMB) chromatography on selected ion-exchangers is considered as another promising technology for this purpose. Saccharide and salt binary mixture was separated on pilot continuous chromatography station KCHS-SMB-8ND (UCT, Prague). The products concentrations were monitored in-line (conductometric, polarimetric, refractometric) and for the fine analysis, ITP and HPAEC/PAD methods were used.

There is an effort on how to isolate the mannitol from natural sources, e.g. from plant extracts or broths. The separation of water solution of mannitol, glucose, fructose and sucrose has been tested using preparative anion-exchange chromatography; the fractions collected were analyzed using HPAEC-PAD. There was successful isolation of pure mannitol fraction using water as a mobile phase and a combination of sodium chloride and hydroxide for sorbent regeneration.

The aim of this work was to determine the carbohydrate profile after acid hydrolysis of natural gums (guar, carob, tara and fenugreek) and to separate these hydrolysates using membrane ultrafiltration. The kinetics of hydrolysis of the collected fractions and the efficiency of carbohydrate filtration of permeate and retentate was determined by HPAEC/PAD. The separation of the galactomannan hydrolysates was performed with solutions of maximum galactose and mannose content.