In situ enzymatic synthesis of prebiotics to improve food functionality

Many public health policies and programs have been implemented in several countries aiming to reduce population sugar consumption and to improve nutritional profile of available processed food. Consumers are also increasingly seeking for nutritional and health-related food able to meet not only nutritional needs, but also improved mental and physical well-being. Therefore, the development of new functional food with targeted health benefits has become of great interest. An innovative strategy to reduce sugar content in food is by substitution or conversion of the sugar that are naturally present in food, or that was added during the food production process, into healthy prebiotic sugars. Yet, food reformulation and developing of new functional food can be technically challenging. This chapter provides an overview on how enzymes may be applied to in situ convert the food sugar into prebiotics. The underlying enzymes mechanisms of action will be addressed. The influence of the prebiotic content in the technological, physicochemical, and organoleptic properties of the obtained food, as well as in the overall quality and stability of the products, will also be reviewed.