ALLULOSE in human diet: the knowns and the unknowns

D-Allulose, also referred to as psicose, is a C3-epimer of D-fructose used as a sugar substitute in low calorie products. It can be formed naturally during processing of food and drinks containing sucrose and fructose or is prepared by chemical synthesis or via enzymatic treatment with epimerases from fructose. Estimated intakes via western style diets including sweetened beverages are below 500 mg per day but, when used as a sugar replacement, intake may reach 10 to 30g per day depending on the food consumed. Due to its structural similarity with fructose, allulose uses the same transport and distribution pathways. But in contrast to fructose, the human genome does not encode for enzymes that are able to metabolize allulose leading to an almost complete renal excretion of the absorbed dose and near-to-zero caloric yield. However, in vitro studies have shown that certain bacteria such as Klebsiella pneumonia are able to utilize allulose as a substrate. This finding has been a subject of concern, since Klebsiella pneumoniae represents an opportunistic human pathogen. It therefore raised the question of whether a high dietary intake of allulose may cause an undesirable growth advantage for potentially harmful bacteria at mucosal sites such as the intestine or at systemic sites following invasive infection. In this brief review, we discuss the current state of science on these issues and define the research needs to better understand the fate of allulose and its metabolic and microbiological effects when ingested as a sugar substitute.

Jam based on sugar substitutes

The article discusses the development of dietary products, namely sugar-free jam. The production process of jam with sugar substitute is presented. In addition, the necessary ingredients have been selected and the most suitable sweetener has been identified, its properties are touched upon, its positive and negative characteristics are examined. This paper will consider the technological process of jam production based on a sugar substitute, a wide variety of sweeteners that can be used in production, and other components that act as an auxiliary part in the recipe.

Author Correction: The sugar substitute Stevia shortens the lifespan of Aedes aegypti potentially by N-linked protein glycosylation

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Assessing the effect of natural sweetener on salivary pH and streptococcus mutans growth- An invivo study

Stevia is a natural sweetener which is used as a sugar substitute. It has been suggested that Stevia may be anti-cariogenic. However, there is limited research in this regard. Currently, Stevia rebaudiana, a plant is considered to be a suitable replacement of sugar which is healthy and has much fewer side effects than other sweeteners. To assess the salivary pH and streptococcus mutans growth among the participants after mouth rinsing with water containing natural sweetener. This double-blinded parallel clinical trial was done among forty female participants aged 22-25 years. Study participants were selected and randomly allocated by lottery method as two different groups as group A, and B. Microbial growth and pH of the saliva was assessed twice, once before rising with stevia solution and at 20 minutes after rinsing with a sugar solution containing Stevia (single tablet and two tablets) mixed in distilled water. Collected data were analyzed using the paired t-test. It was found from the study that there was an increase in mean salivary pH when compared with the baseline value after rinsing with Stevia. There was an increase in the Streptococcus mutans count after rinsing with Stevia. Increase in streptococcus mutans count was found to be low in Group A than group B. pH value stays in neutral value even after rinsing with a natural sweetener. There is no much difference between Group A and B. Salivary pH after mouth rinsing with Stevia is in a neutral state. It has low Streptococcus mutans growth suggesting that Stevia can also be used as a sugar substitute replacing artificial sugar substitutes.

Research of the possibility of replacing sugar to sugar substitute in the recipe of cake from wheat flour

The article presents the results of a study on replacing sugar with the sugar substitute «Stevia» in bakery and confectionery products, in particular, in muffins. In the course of test baking, the optimal concentration of the Stevia sweetener in the wheat flour cake recipe was determined, at which the finished confectionery product meets the requirements for organoleptic and physicochemical indicators for confectionery products. A comparative assessment of the energy value of a cake made from wheat flour with sugar and a sugar substitute «Stevia» is given.