Difructose anhydride III: a 50-year perspective on its production and physiological functions

Abstract

Production and applications of difructose anhydride III (DFA-III) have attracted considerable attention because of its versatile physiological functions. Recently, large-scale production of DFA-III has been continuously explored, which opens a horizon for applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries. This review updates recent advances involving DFA-III, including: biosynthetic strategies, purification, and large-scale production of DFA-III; physiological functions of DFA-III and related mechanisms; DFA-III safety evaluations; present applications in food systems, existing problems, and further research prospects. Currently, enzymatic synthesis of DFA-III has been conducted both industrially and in academic research. Two biosynthetic strategies for DFA-III production are summarized: single- and double enzyme-mediated. DFA-III purification is achieved via yeast fermentation. Enzyme membrane bioreactors have been applied to meet the large-scale production demands for DFA-III. In addition, the primary physiological functions of DFA-III and their underlying mechanisms have been proposed. However, current applications of DFA-III are limited. Further research regarding DFA-III should focus on commercial production and purification, comprehensive study of physiological properties, extensive investigation of large-scale human experiments, and expansion of industrial applications. It is worthy to dig deep into potential application and commercial value of DFA-III.

Keywords:

• Biosynthetic strategies
• physiological functions
• applications
• difructose anhydride III

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest and no competing financial interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31922073), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (No. BK20181343), and the Key-Area Research and Development Program of Guangdong Province (No. 2020B020226007).