Lactose determination in relation to contemporary methodologies

Abstract

Lactose is the most abundant sugar of milk and dairy products, and with the progress of studies, it is known that this saccharide is badly digested by a portion of the population, which has the consumption of reduced or lactose-free products as an option without giving up of such nutritive food. The market for lactose-free products increased during the last years in Brazil and the need for reliable methods for determining the final lactose content in products has increased, as it has become a mandatory determination in the industries. From the point of view of consumer safety and in accordance with the legislation, it is necessary to adopt effective lactose determination techniques. There is a whole world of possibilities being used at research or are already in use commercially. The present study assembles some approaches such as enzymatic methods, titrimetry, chromatography, biosensors, glucometer, and Raman spectroscopy, considering particularities. Enzymatic and chromatographic methods stand out for their lower limits of detection and better repeatability.

Keywords

• zero lactose
• leite
• produto lácteo
• método analítico.