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Advanced Dairy Chemistry pp 1–15Cite as

Lactose: Chemistry and Properties

Abstract

The principal carbohydrate in the milk of most mammalian species is the reducing disaccharide, lactose, which is composed of galactose and glucose linked by a β1→4 glycosidic bond. Its concentration varies from 0 to ∼10%, w/w, and milk is the only known significant source of lactose. Research on lactose commenced with the work of Carl Scheele about 1780; its chemistry and its important physico-chemical properties have been described thoroughly. The very extensive literature on lactose has been reviewed by Whittier (1925, 1944), Weisberg (1954), Zadow (1984, 1992), Schaafsma (2008) and Ganzle et al. (2008) and in all major textbooks on Dairy Chemistry or Technology, including Jenness and Patton (1959), Webb and Johnson (1965), Webb et al. (1974), Walstra and Jenness (1984), Fox (1985, 1997), Wong et al. (1988), Fox and McSweeney (1998), Walstra (2002) and Walstra et al. (1999, 2006).

Keywords

  • Lactic Acid Bacterium
  • Polylactic Acid
  • Human Milk
  • Maillard Reaction
  • Casein Micelle

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University College, Cork, Ireland

    P.F. Fox

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  1. P.F. Fox
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fac. Food Technology & Nutrition, Dept. Food Science, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    Paul McSweeney

  2. Fac. Food Technology & Nutrition, Dept. Food Science, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    Patrick F. Fox

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Fox, P. (2009). Lactose: Chemistry and Properties. In: McSweeney, P., Fox, P. (eds) Advanced Dairy Chemistry. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-84865-5_1

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