Erythritol, a new star in functional sweeteners

Erythritol is a popular filling sweetener in the 21st century, known as "zero" value ingredients Erythritol is characterized by good crystallinity, low hygroscopicity and easy to be comminuted It is also not hygroscopic in the environment with relative humidity of more than 90%, which is more difficult to hygroscopic than sucrose; erythritol is very stable to heat and acid, and almost does not appear browning or decomposition under the general food processing conditions, and can withstand the high temperature cooking without browning during the production of hard sugar International interest in erythritol, a new type of sugar alcohol sweetener, is growing, its production capacity and market scale are expanding, and it is approved by who and FDA for use in food Now, Mitsubishi Chemical is applying for its erythritol products to enter China The direct sale of products by large foreign companies in China will help Chinese consumers understand and use erythritol With consumers' recognition of its special health care function, the domestic consumer market will also be launched, and the market prospect is very promising At present, only Shandong bowlingbao Biotechnology Co., Ltd produces erythritol industrially in China (erythritol is a by-product of Haizheng pharmaceutical industry) The new project of erythritol will provide a new type of healthy food ingredients for domestic consumers, and the products can also be put into the international market, and directly participate in the international market competition with high-tech products The sweetness of erythritol is 60% - 70% of that of sucrose It absorbs more energy when dissolved in water The heat of dissolution is - 97.4j/g It has a cool taste when used Its sweetness is pure and good It is very close to that of sucrose and has no bad aftertaste When it is used together with saccharin, aspartame and acesulfame, the sweetness characteristics are also very good, which can cover up the bad taste or flavor that strong sweeteners usually have For example, the mixture of erythritol and stevioside with 1000: (1-7) can mask the bitter aftertaste of stevioside Erythritol is a small molecular substance, which can be easily absorbed by the small intestine through passive diffusion Most of it can enter the blood circulation, and only a small amount can directly enter the large intestine as a carbon source for fermentation However, erythritol entering the blood can not be digested and degraded by the enzyme system in the body, but can only be filtered out of the blood through the kidney and discharged out of the body through urine Because of its unique metabolic characteristics, erythritol has a very low energy value 80% of erythritol entering the organism is excreted through urine, which obviously does not provide energy Another 20% enters the large intestine Assuming that half (already the largest estimated amount) of erythritol is fermented into unsaturated fatty acid by intestinal bacteria, and is re absorbed and metabolized, it can be concluded that only 5% - 10% of erythritol ingested has energy value at most, which provides energy for human body Energy source The energy value of erythritol is only 0.84kj/g, which is the lowest among all the sweeteners Because 80% of erythritol which enters the body of the machine will be absorbed by the small intestine quickly and thoroughly, the side effects caused by non absorbed substances can be avoided The high non absorption of carbohydrates in the inner wall of the small intestine can produce high osmotic pressure, which leads to water flow on the surface of the mucous membrane of the small intestine wall, thus causing diarrhea However, the undigested and absorbed carbohydrate enters the large intestine and is fermented by the intestinal bacteria to produce a large number of volatile substances, which exceeds the limit of the amount that can be reabsorbed through the blood and excreted with the feces, resulting in flatulence The degree of these two side effects is also related to the specific physical quality of the individual who ingests them In severe cases, abdominal spasm and intestinal tumbling sometimes occur As for erythritol, most of it can be absorbed by the small intestine, so its tolerance is very high and side effects are very small In general, 30-50g / D is not harmful to the body.