What is isomerized lactose? How does it regulate intestinal flora as a prebiotic?

Isomerized lactose and its properties
In modern society, people’s life and work are under too much pressure, which leads to the metabolic disorder of intestinal flora, and then causes a series of intestinal diseases increasingly. Isomerized lactose can proliferate bifidobacteria and other beneficial bacteria, improve the intestinal environment and enhance intestinal health, and is an excellent prebiotic suitable for regulating the health of intestinal flora.
Every year, 4 million tons of lactose will be obtained from the production of cheese, but only 25% of it can be further utilized, and the remaining 3 million tons of lactose will be wasted and cause environmental pollution, and about 70% of people in the world have lactose intolerance, which will cause serious gastrointestinal problems after consuming lactose, however, the appearance of isomerized lactose successfully solves this problem.
According to GB 1886.176-2016 National Standard for Food Safety Food Additives Isomerized Lactose Liquid, isomerized lactose is a food additive isomerized lactose liquid made from lactose as raw material, which is isomerized by alkali or without alkali under heated conditions, or then dried and made into a solid product.
Among them, solid isomerized lactose is white or nearly white crystalline powder, while isomerized lactose liquid is colorless to dark yellow transparent liquid. In China, both of them meet the standard requirements of GB 1886.176-2016 National Standard for Food Safety, Food Additives, Isomerized Lactose Liquid, and the specific scope of application and the amount of additives should meet the GB 2760-2014 National Standard for Food Safety, Standard for the Use of Food Additives:

The human digestive system is a complex organ that plays a key role in the body’s ability to effectively maintain good health and keep the organism functioning well. How does the ingested isomerized lactose work in the body and how does it bring relevant benefits to the body?
First of all, it is necessary to understand the relevant characteristics of isomerized lactose: isomerized lactose is a new type of disaccharide, oligosaccharides with prebiotic effect, the β-(1-4) glycosidic bond of isomerized lactose is not easy to be hydrolyzed by the digestive enzymes and gastric acid in the human body, and so it can reach the intestinal tract. Isomerized lactose is selected and utilized by the intestinal flora in the intestinal tract, resulting in the proliferation of probiotics (e.g., Bifidobacterium bifidum and Lactobacillus).
Isomerized lactose is half as sweet as sucrose, and has the characteristics of low viscosity, low calorie, easily soluble in water, and stable performance (heat and acid resistant), etc. As a good source of sugar for the growth of bifidobacteria, it is not broken down and absorbed in the small intestine until it reaches the cecum, where it is utilized by the beneficial bacterium bifidobacteria, and then passes through the transverse colon, and finally stops being utilized when it reaches the descending colon.
Health benefits of isomerized lactose
2.1 Regulation of intestinal flora Isomerized lactose is beneficial in promoting the growth of probiotics and inhibiting the proliferation of spoilage bacteria. According to Tsunesuke T. et al [1], a daily intake of 0.65g of isomerized lactose is beneficial to the proliferation of bifidobacteria in the intestinal tract, softening of stools and improvement of intestinal flora. The short-chain organic acids produced in the process can reduce the pH of feces, increase the osmotic pressure in the intestine, and promote peristalsis, thus improving constipation.
2.2 Reduce the generation and absorption of inorganic ammonia in the intestine Isomerized lactose can limit the generation and absorption of inorganic ammonia in the colon. Intestinal acidification converts NH3 to unabsorbable NH4+, effectively reducing the concentration of ammonia in the blood vessels [2]. Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a neuropsychiatric disorder caused by liver dysfunction. Signs of the disease are confusion, stress, changes in behavior or consciousness and fluctuations in neural signals. And accumulation of toxins such as intestinal thiols, ammonia and phenylenediols is a cause of hepatic encephalopathy [3].
2.3 Promoting the absorption of calcium and magnesium in the body Isomerized lactose promotes the absorption of calcium and magnesium. It has been found that the intake of 5g/d and 10g/d isomerized lactose promotes the absorption of calcium in menopausal women [4]; isomerized lactose enhances the absorption of calcium and magnesium in adult males, and the rate of absorption of calcium and magnesium increases with the increase in the intake of isomerized lactose [5].
2.4 Enhance the role of body immunity isomerized lactose by promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria and mineral absorption, play an indirect stimulation of immune function; at the same time isomerized lactose is decomposed to produce an acidic environment can inhibit the production of harmful bacteria, so as to reduce the production of harmful substances and toxins, reduce the level of toxins in the body, the acidic environment so that ammonia in the intestinal tract into ammonium ions with the feces and discharged from the body, to block ammonia hepatic and intestinal circulation The acidic environment causes ammonia in the intestines to become ammonium ions that are excreted in the feces, blocking the hepatic and intestinal circulation of ammonia, thus reducing blood ammonia, alleviating the detoxification burden on the liver, and enhancing the body’s ability to resist infection and immunity. It has also been reported that a very small portion of isomerized lactose can be absorbed to produce a direct immune response, rather than just an indirect immune response through bifidobacteria [7].
2.5 Modulation of intestinal transit Isomerized lactose can modulate transit time, speeding up excessively slow transit and slowing down excessively fast transit to maintain intestinal transit in a comfortable range. 2010, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded that consumption of a minimum of 10g of isomerized lactose in a single serving establishes a “consumption of isomerized lactose” and “consumption of lactose” as well as “consumption of isomerized lactose” and “consumption of isomerized lactose”. lactose” and ‘reduced intestinal transit time’ [6].
Applications in the global market
Isomerized lactose has been used in the food industry for more than 50 years, and in 1991, the Japanese government legislated for special health food products, allowing isomerized lactose to be added as a functional ingredient to health food products. 2010, the European Union Food Safety Authority (EU FSANZ) concluded that consumption of at least 10 g of isomerized lactose in a single serving of food could establish a causative relationship between “consumption of isomerized lactose” and “reduction of intestinal transit time” [7]. Isomerized lactose” and ‘reduced intestinal transit time’. Liquid isomerized lactose is a proliferating factor for bifidobacteria, which has the function of helping digestion and absorption of protein, lactose, and production of vitamin B. It is approved for use in China and can be added to milk powder, cookies, infant formulas, beverages, etc. [8].
Isomerized lactose has been used as a proliferating factor of bifidobacteria by many domestic and foreign dairy and health care enterprises in China, Japan, Germany, the United States and other countries, and used in the development of series products such as yogurt, infant formula, lactobacilli drinks, etc. With the enhancement of people’s health awareness, more and more attention to the maintenance and preservation of intestinal health, isomerized lactose, a probiotic guardian ushered in a new wave of health application period.
In 1960, Morinaga Dairy in Japan was the first in the world to develop infant formula with added isomerized lactose, and in 1995, R. Nagendra et al. studied the stability of infant formula containing isomerized lactose. The results showed that there was no change in humidity and solubility between milk powder containing isomerized lactose and milk powder without isomerized lactose at any temperature.
On December 5, 2017, the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) announced on its official website the list of the 27th batch of infant formula registrations, including 40 from 10 companies, including Hebei Sanyuan. Among them, Hebei Sanyuan’s Enbeiyi infant formula and Aixinbao infant formula were approved at the same time, which continues to inherit the craftsmanship of the Sanyuan brand for more than 60 years, adheres to good quality to ensure the quality and safety of infant milk powder, and protects the healthy growth of Chinese babies with good quality.