Erythritol

Erythritol ((2R,3S)-butane-1,2,3,4-tetraol) is a natural Food and Drug Administration (FDA) labeling requirements, it has a caloric value of 0.2 calories per gram (95% less than sugar and other carbohydrates), but some countries like Japan label it at 0 calories.

Erythritol and human digestion

In the body, erythritol is absorbed into the bloodstream in the small intestine, and then for the most part excreted unchanged in the urine. Because erythritol is normally absorbed before it enters the large intestine, it does not normally cause laxative effects as are often experienced after over-consumption of other sugar alcohols (such as xylitol and maltitol) and most people will consume erythritol with no side effects. This is a unique characteristic, as other sugar alcohols are not absorbed directly by the body in this manner, and consequently are more prone to causing gastric distress ^[4].

As a whole, erythritol is generally free of side-effects in regular use, but if consumed in very extreme quantities (sometimes encouraged by its almost non-caloric nature), effectively consuming it faster than one's body can absorb it, a laxative effect may result. The laxative response does not begin until you cross your body's natural absorption threshold, which is the point at which you have ingested more erythritol than is found in reasonable servings of food products and is usually a larger amount than most people will eat in a single sitting. Erythritol, when compared with other sugar alcohols, is also much more difficult for intestinal bacteria to digest, so it is unlikely to cause gas or bloating ^[5], unlike lactitol.

Physical properties

Heat of solution

Erythritol has a strong cooling effect (positive mint flavors, but proves distracting with more subtle flavors and textures. The cooling effect is only present when erythritol is not already dissolved in water, a situation that might be experienced in an erythritol-sweetened frosting, chocolate bar, chewing gum, or hard candy. When combined with solid fats, such as coconut oil, cocoa butter or cow's butter, the cooling effect tends to accentuate the waxy characteristics of the fat in a generally undesirable manner. This is particularly pronounced in chocolate bars made with erythritol. The cooling effect of erythritol is very similar to that of xylitol and among the strongest cooling effects of all sugar alcohols.

Synergistic sweetening

Erythritol is frequently combined with high intensity sweeteners like sucralose.

Blending for sugar-like properties

Beyond high intensity sweeteners, erythritol is often paired with other bulky ingredients that exhibit sugar-like characteristics to better mimic the texture and mouthfeel of hygroscopic ingredient is not used in the formulation.

Very commonly, hygroscopicity, and non-crystallizing liquid form.

Erythritol and bacteria

Erythritol has been certified as tooth-friendly^[7]. The sugar alcohol cannot be metabolized by oral bacteria, and so does not contribute to tooth decay. Interestingly, erythritol exhibits some, but not all, of the tendencies to "starve" harmful bacteria like xylitol does. Unlike xylitol, erythritol is actually absorbed into the bloodstream after consumption but before excretion. However, it is not clear at present if the effect of starving harmful bacteria occurs systemically.

See also

• Threitol, the diastereomer or erythritol

References

1. ^ http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~rdb/opa-g076.html
2. ^ Shindou, T., Sasaki, Y., Miki, H., Eguchi, T., Hagiwara, K., and Ichikawa, T. 1988. Determination of erythritol in fermented foods by high performance liquid chromatography. Shokuhin Eiseigaku Zasshi 29(6):419-422.
3. ^ http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~rdb/opa-g076.html
4. ^ Munro, I.C.; Berndt, W.O.; Borzelleca, J.F.; Flamm, G.; Lynch, B.S.; Kennepohl, E.; Bar, E.A.; Modderman, J. 1998. Erythritol: An interpretive summary of biochemical, metabolic, toxicological and clinical data. Food and Chemical Toxicology 36(12):1139-1174. Entrez PubMed 9862657
5. ^ Arrigoni, E.; Brouns, F.; Amadò, R. 2005. Human gut microbiota does not ferment erythritol. British Journal of Nutrition 94(5):643-646. Entrez PubMed 16277764
6. ^ Wohlfarth, Christian. CRC Handbook of Enthalpy Data of Polymer-Solvent Systems. CRC Press, 2006. Google Books result: ISBN 0849393612
7. ^ Kawanabe, J., Hirasawa, M., Takeuchi, T., Oda, T., and Ideda, T. 1992. Noncariogenicity of erythritol as a substrate. Caries Research 26:358-362. Entrez PubMed 1468100