Lactulose, a semisynthetic nondigestive disaccharide with versatile applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries, has received increasing interest due to its significant health-promoting effects. Currently, industrial lactulose production is exclusively carried out by chemical isomerization of lactose via the Lobry de Bruyn-Alberda van Ekenstein (LA) rearrangement, and much work has been directed toward improving the conversion efficiency in terms of lactulose yield and purity by using new chemo-catalysts and integrated catalytic-purification systems. Lactulose can also be produced by an enzymatic route offering a potentially greener alternative to chemo-catalysis with fewer side products. Compared to the controlled trans-galactosylation by β-galactosidase, directed isomerization of lactose with high isomerization efficiency catalyzed by the most efficient lactulose-producing enzyme, cellobiose 2-epimerase (CE), has gained much attention in recent decades. To further facilitate the industrial translation of CE-based lactulose biotransformation, numerous studies have been reported on improving biocatalytic performance through enzyme mediated molecular modification. This review summarizes recent developments in the chemical and enzymatic production of lactulose. Related catalytic mechanisms are also highlighted and described in detail. Emerging techniques that aimed at advancing lactulose production, such as the boronate affinity-based technique and molecular biological techniques, are reviewed. Finally, perspectives on challenges and opportunities in lactulose production and purification are also discussed.

乳果糖是一种半合成的非消化性二糖，在食品和制药行业具有广泛的应用，由于其显着的健康促进作用而受到越来越多的关注。目前，工业乳果糖生产完全是通过 Lobry de Bruyn-Alberda van Ekenstein (LA) 重排对乳糖进行化学异构化来进行的，并且已经有很多工作致力于通过使用新的化学方法来提高乳果糖产率和纯度方面的转化效率。 -催化剂和集成催化净化系统。乳果糖也可以通过酶促途径生产，为化学催化提供潜在的绿色替代方案，副产物更少。与β控制的反式半乳糖基化相比-半乳糖苷酶是由最高效的产乳果糖酶纤维二糖2-差向异构酶（CE）催化的具有高异构化效率的乳糖定向异构化，近几十年来备受关注。为了进一步促进基于 CE 的乳果糖生物转化的工业转化，已经报道了许多关于通过酶介导的分子修饰来提高生物催化性能的研究。本综述总结了乳果糖化学和酶促生产的最新进展。相关的催化机制也被强调和详细描述。综述了旨在促进乳果糖生产的新兴技术，例如基于硼酸盐亲和性的技术和分子生物学技术。最后，