at present, the sugar alcohols used more in nutritional sweeteners include sorbitol reduced by glucitol; maltitol reduced by maltose; maltose maltose malt maltol reduced; xylitol reduced from xylose; lactol reduced from lactose; erythritol fermented from glucose and mannitol reduced from sugar. among them, sorbitol and maltitol are designated as food additives.
the main characteristics of sugar alcohols are as follows:
1. no browning: unlike amylase, sugar alcohols have no reducing group and work together with amino acids. no browning occurs when heated.
2. strong heat resistance: when glucose and sugar are heated to 130℃~140℃, they will brown significantly due to thermal decomposition. however, sugar alcohols such as sorbitol will not decompose or color when heated at 180°c; maltitol is stable at 140°c~150°c.
3. low sweetness: compared with the sweetness of sucrose, sorbitol is 70%, reduced maltose is 85%, and xylitol is 65%.
4. will not cause dental caries: sugar alcohols will not be decomposed by microorganisms in the oral cavity to produce organic acids, and have no corrosive effect on teeth.
5. others: it also has properties such as water retention, reducing water activity and increasing gloss.
