Sugar Alcohols (Polyols) - Sweeteners: Nutritional Aspects, Applications, and Production Technology - page 45

Chapter 3
Sugar alcohols (polyols)
Gülsün Akdemir Evrendilek
CONteNtS
3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 45
3.2 Importance of Sugar Alcohols for Food Industry and Human Health ................................... 46
3.3 Monosaccharide Polyols ......................................................................................................... 51
3.3.1 Erythritol .................................................................................................................... 51
3.3.2 Xylitol.......................................................................................................................... 53
3.3.3 Sorbitol........................................................................................................................ 56
3.3.4 Mannitol...................................................................................................................... 59
3.3.5 d-Tagatose................................................................................................................... 61
3.4 Disaccharide Polyols............................................................................................................... 62
3.4.1 Maltitol........................................................................................................................ 62
3.4.2 Isomalt ........................................................................................................................64
3.4.3 Lactitol ........................................................................................................................ 65
3.4.4 Trehalose..................................................................................................................... 68
3.5 Polysaccharide Polyols............................................................................................................ 69
3.5.1 Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysates............................................................................. 69
3.6 Conclusions............................................................................................................................. 70
References ........................................................................................................................................ 70
3.1 INtrODUCtION
Sugar alcohols, also known as polyols, polyalcohols, or polyhydric alcohols, are naturally pres-
ent in many fruits and vegetables, contributing to the sweetness, and are a hydrogenated form of
carbohydrates of which the carbonyl group (aldehyde or ketone, reducing sugar) has been reduced
to a primary or secondary hydroxyl group (Wang 2003). Sugar alcohols have the general formula of
H(HCHO) n +1 H, whereas sugars have the general formula of H(HCHO) n HCO. The deining charac-
teristic is the occurrence of an alcohol group (>CH-OH) in place of the carbonyl group (>C=O) in
the aldose and ketose moieties of monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysac-
charides; hence, polyols are not sugars and generally carry the sufix “-itol” in place of the sufix
“-ose” according to modern carbohydrate nomenclature (McNaught 1996). The name “polyol” is
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