Despite its hydrolytic activity, α-galactosidases can also be applied to synthesis of α-galactosides by transglycosylation and reverse hydrolysis reactions [15].
α-D-Galactosides, mainly raffinose and stachyose, are identified as antinutritional factors in soybean and legume seeds because of indigestibility and induction of flatulence in monogastric animals. Therefore, α-galactosidases have been extensively used for degrading raffinose-family oligosaccharides(RFOs) in the food and feed industries [16], for instance used to improve the gelling properties of galactomannans to be used as food thickeners [17]. Furthermore, α-galactosidase has also been applied to the field of biotechnology for hydrolyzing raffinose in beet sugar syrups to facilitate the crystallization of sucrose [18].