trehalose

Trehalose is a multi-functional sugar. Its mild sweetness (45% sucrose), low cariogenicity, low hygroscopicity, high freezing-point depression, high glass transition temperature and protein protection properties are all of immense benefit to food technologists. Trehalose is fully caloric, has no laxative effects and after ingestion is broken down in the body to glucose. It has a moderate glycemic index with low insulinemic response. Trehalose, like other sugars may be used without restriction in a wide range of food products including beverages, chocolate & sugar confectionery, bakery products, frozen foods, breakfast cereals and dairy products. 1. Low cariogenicity Trehalose has been fully tested under both in vivo and in vitro cariogenic system, so it has substantially reduced cariogenic potential. 2. Mild sweetness Trehalose is only 45% as sweet as sucrose. It has a clean taste profile 3. Low solubility and excellent crystalline Water-solubility of trehalose is as high as maltose while the crystallinity is excellent, so it is easy to produce the low hygroscopical candy, coating, soft confectionery etc. 4. High Glass Transition Temperature The glass transition temperature of trehalose is 120°C, which makes trehalose ideal as a protein protectant and ideally suited as a carrier for spray-dried flavors.

1. Foods

Trehalose has been accepted as a novel food ingredient under the GRAS terms in the U.S. and the EU. Trehalose has also found commercial application as a food ingredient. The uses for trehalose span a broad spectrum that cannot be found in other sugars, the primary one being its use in the processing of foods. Trehalose is used in a variety of processed foods such as dinners, western and Japanese confectionery, bread, vegetables side dishes, animal-derived deli foods, pouch-packed foods, frozen foods, and beverages, as well as foods for lunches, eating out, or prepared at home. This use in such a wide range of products is due to the multi-faceted effects of trehalose's properties, such as its inherently mild sweet flavor, its preservative properties, which maintain the quality of the three main nutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, fats), its powerful water-retention properties that preserve the texture of foods by protecting them from drying out or freezing, its properties to suppress smells and tastes such as bitterness, stringency, harsh flavors, and the stench of raw foods, meats, and packaged foods, which when combined can potentially bring about promising results. However, less-soluble and less-sweet than sucrose, trehalose is seldom used as a direct replacement for conventional sweeteners, such as sucrose, regarded as the "gold standard."

2. Cosmetics

Capitalizing on trehalose's moisture-retaining capacity, it is used as a moisturizer in many basic toiletries such as bath oils and hair growth tonics.

3. Pharmaceuticals

Using trehalose's properties to preserve tissue and protein to full advantage, it is used in organ protection solutions for organ transplants.

4. Others

Other fields of use for trehalose span a broad spectrum including fabrics that have deodorization qualities and are compatible to Japan's official 'Cool Biz' attire, plant activation, antibacterial sheets, and nutrients for larvae.

Damon Gan E-mail: damon@bio-fuyang.com

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