Nutritional and Health Aspects of Sweeteners - Sweeteners: Nutritional Aspects, Applications, and Production Technology - page 333

van Can et al. (2009a) compared the postprandial metabolic response to the ingestion of glucose
versus trehalose. They hypothesized that the reduced digestion and absorption rate of trehalose is
accompanied by an attenuated glycemic and insulinemic response, leading to a less inhibited post-
prandial fat oxidation rate. In a randomized, single-blind, cross-over study, 10 overweight subjects
ingested two carbohydrate drinks (75-g carbohydrate equivalents of trehalose or glucose) following
an overnight fast (08:40 h) and together with a standardized mixed meal (12.30 h; 25% total energy
content was provided as either glucose or trehalose). Blood samples were collected before ingestion
and every 30 min thereafter for a period of 3 h; substrate use was assessed by indirect calorimetry,
and expired breath samples were collected. Ingestion of carbohydrates with a mixed meal resulted
in a lower peak glucose response and a lower change in area under the curve (dAUC) following tre-
halose compared with glucose. Differences in peak insulin response and dAUC were observed with
trehalose compared with glucose in the morning and afternoon. These differences were accom-
panied with a reduced carbohydrate oxidation after trehalose when ingested as a drink, while no
signiicant differences in fat oxidation between drinks were observed. Peak plasma glucose concen-
trations were lower after the ingestion of trehalose compared with glucose. The glycemic response
(dAUC) was comparable after the intake of trehalose compared with glucose following an overnight
fast ( P = 0.08), whereas there was a lower response after trehalose compared with glucose when
ingested in combination with a mixed meal ( P < 0.02). In addition, peak insulin concentrations and
the total response were lower after the ingestion of trehalose compared with glucose in the morning
and afternoon.
Kurotobi et al. (2010) investigated the GI of ive strawberry jams from various sugar compo-
sitions in 30 healthy adults. The jam containing the highest ratio of glucose showed a high GI,
whereas that containing a high ratio of fructose, a jam made of PDX, showed a low GI. Moreover,
the blood glucose level after an intake of 20 g of the high-GI jam containing the high glucose ratio
was higher than that of other jams at 15 min; however, there was no signiicant difference after 30
min. Regardless of whether GI was high or low, differences in the jams were not observed in the
postprandial blood glucose level after eating either one slice of bread or one slice of bread with less
than 20 g of jam.
The only comprehensive data on honey GI are based mainly on data of different Australian hon-
eys (Foster-Powell et al. 2002). There is a signiicant negative correlation between fructose content
and GI, probably due to the different fructose/glucose ratios of the honey types tested. It is known
that uniloral honeys have varying fructose content and fructose/glucose ratios (Persano Oddo and
Piro 2004).
Some honeys with relatively high concentration of fructose, for example, acacia and yellow box,
have lower GI than other honey types. There was no signiicant correlation between GI and the other
honey sugars. The GI values of four honeys found in one study varied between 69 and 74 (Ischayek
and Kern 2006), whereas in another study, the value of a honey of unidentiied botanical origin was
found to be 35 (Kreider et al. 2000).
Although honey is a high-carbohydrate food, its GI varies within a wide range, from 32 to 85,
depending on the botanical source (Bogdanov et al. 2008). It contains small amounts of proteins,
enzymes, amino acids, minerals, trace elements, vitamins, aroma compounds, and polyphenols.
These covered the composition of honey, the nutritional contribution of its components, and its
physiological and nutritional effects. It shows that honey has a variety of positive nutritional and
health effects if consumed at higher doses of 50-80 g per intake.
Low-GI honeys might be a valuable alternative to high-GI sweeteners. In order to take into
account the quantity of ingested food, a new term, GL, was introduced. It is calculated as follows.
The GI value is multiplied by the carbohydrate content in a given portion and divided by 100. Values
lower than 10 are considered “low,” values between 10 and 20 are “intermediate,” and values above
20 belong to the category “high.” For an assumed honey portion of 25 g, the GL of most honey types
is low, and some types are in the intermediate range (Bogdanov et al. 2008).