GlycoProFit
Cost-efficient synthesis of health-promoting glycobioses
About GlycoProFit
The GlycoProFit project aims to establish the “Cost-efficient synthesis of health-promoting glycobioses” using classical table sugar (sucrose) as substrate and enzymes as green biocatalysts. After the synthesis of a variety of healthier alternatives, such as kojibiose (α-1,2-glucobiose, see Background Paper), the new disaccharides and analogues will be subjected to detailed analysis to determine their characteristics in food applications (incl. cariogenic effect, caloric value and prebiotic properties). The most promising candidates will then be produced at a larger scale to enable their taste and texture profiling.
The GlycoProFit project is a collaborative research project where five different partners, academic research groups, combine their strengths and expertise in order to create and analysis new biocatalytic production routes for glycobioses with health-promoting properties. This project falls under the “Strategic Basic Research” (SBO) grants funded by FWO Flanders with grant number S003617N.
The consortium is supported by an Industrial Advisory Committee (IAC), composed of various companies that cover the entire food and feed industry chain. Their feedback enables the consortium to focus on the most relevant targets from the beginning, thereby ensuring a strong position for valorization and market uptake.
In the GlycoProFit project highly innovative research goes hand-in-hand with the creation of opportunities for further economic of societal applications, such as a new generation of products, processes or services, which is a key goal of the SBO funding.
Project output
Biocatalytic Synthesis of the Rare Sugar Kojibiose: Process Scale-Up and Application Testing.
J Agric Food Chem, 2017
doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.7b0225
Rational design of an improved transglucosylase for production of the rare sugar nigerose
Chem Commun, 2019
doi: 10.1039/C9CC01587F
Rare mono- and disaccharides as healthy alternative for traditional sugars and sweeteners?
Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 2020
doi: 10.1080/10408398.2020.
1743966
Oral Microbiota Display Profound Differential Metabolic Kinetics and Community Shifts upon Incubation with Sucrose, Trehalose, Kojibiose, and Xylitol
Appl Environ Microbiol, 2020
doi: 10.1128/AEM.01170-20
Synthesis, trehalase hydrolytic resistance and inhibition properties of 4- and 6-substituted trehalose derivatives
J Enzyme Inhib Med Chem, 2020
doi: 10.1080/14756366.2020.1837125
Sucrose Phosphorylase and Related Enzymes in Glycoside Hydrolase Family 13: Discovery, Application and Engineering
Int J Mol Sci, 2020
doi: 10.3390/ijms21072526
Oral and Gut Microbial Carbohydrate-Active Enzymes Landscape in Health and Disease
Front. Microbiol., 2021
doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.653448
Metabolism and Health Effects of Rare Sugars in a CACO-2/HepG2 Coculture Model
Nutrients, 2021
doi: 10.3390/nu14030611
Sweet Biotechnology : Enzymatic Production and Digestibility Screening of Novel Kojibiose and Nigerose Analogues
J Agric Food Chem, 2022
doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.1c07709
Glycosidic linkage of rare and new-to-nature disaccharides reshapes gut microbiota in vitro
Food Chemistry, 2023 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.135440
Rare Sugar Metabolism and Impact on Insulin Sensitivity along the Gut–Liver–Muscle Axis In Vitro
Nutrients, 2023
doi: 10.3390/nu15071593
Background paper
Converting bulk sugars into prebiotics: semi-rational design of a transglucosylase with controlled selectivity
Video (dutch)
Consortium members
Who we are
Unit for Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering
Enzyme engineering and process optimisation for the production of new sugars
Food Chemistry and Human Nutrition
Effect of the new sugars on human nutrition and health (calories, metabolism)
Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology
Effect of the new sugars on oral and gastrointestinal microbiome (caries, prebiotic)
Laboratory of Food Technology
Physicochemical and sensorial properties of the new sugars (formulation, taste)
Laboratory for Organic and Bioorganic synthesis
Chemical derivation of the new sugars towards pharmaceutical applications