Novel fructan exohydrolase: unique properties and applications for human health

Fructans are multifunctional carbohydrates associated with stress responses in plants and microorganisms, and an array of well-characterized enzymes accounts for their wide diversity of structures in nature. However, a fructan exohydrolase enzyme involved in degrading the central beta-2,6 linkage in neokestose and neokestosebased fructans has remained undetected. Ueno et al. (2018) not only filled this gap with the identification of a novel 6G&1-FEH from asparagus, but noted very special properties through its characterization. This will inspire further research into similar enzymes in other organisms, and open important new avenues for applied research.