Oligosaccharides From Colostrum and Dairy By-Products: Determination, Enrichment, and Healthy Effects

Abstract Milk oligosaccharides are typically composed of 3–10 monosaccharide units, including glucose, galactose, and N -acetylglucosamine as well as fucose and sialic acids. Different healthy properties have been attributed to oligosaccharides; they participate in several protective and physiological roles, including prebiotic activity, immunoregulation, and inhibition of pathogen adhesion in the gastrointestinal tract of infants. Recent studies have demonstrated beneficial functions of milk oligosaccharides in vitro indicating them as potential new source of microbiotic modulators. The beneficial effects of oligosaccharides have attracted the interest of food scientists and food companies to isolate the oligosaccharides from dairy by-products. To this aim, membrane filtration technology has been described as green methodology used to obtain oligosaccharides extracts from dairy by-products. At the same time, different analytical methodologies have been used to determine their composition, and recent advancements were made in analytical techniques, including nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, liquid chromatography, anion exchange chromatography, capillary electrophoresis, and mass spectrometry. In this chapter, a comprehensive overview of oligosaccharides present in dairy by-products, including analytical methods for their determination, purification technologies, and healthy effects, has been reported.