A considerable
quantity of the sweeteners used throughout the world are derived from starch as
opposed to cane or beet sugar. The enzymatic treatment of starch has become much
more popular than acid hydrolysis.
The treatment of starch with enzymes results in a variety of sweet syrups used thoughout the food and beverage industries. Three stages can be identified in starch modification. Firstly, amylases liberate "maltodextrin" by the liquefaction process. Such maltodextrins are not very sweet as they contain dextrins and oligosaccharides.
The dextrins and oligosaccharides are further hydrolysed by enzymes such as pullulanase and glucoamylase in a process known as saccharification. Complete saccharification converts all the limit dextrans to glucose, maltose and isomaltose. The resulting syrups are moderately sweet and are frequently modified further.
Treatment of glucose/maltose syrups with glucose isomerase converts a large proportion of the glucose to fructose which is sweeter than glucose. This isomerisation process is usually performed with immobilised glucose isomerase and results in syrups with approximately 50 % fructose and 50 % glucose. Such products are known as high fructose syrups and are frequently used as "sugar replacements" in the manufacture of foods and beverages.
View the Product Range and Enzymes Effects