Erythritol is a kind of filled sweetener, is a tetra-carbon sugar alcohol, the molecular formula is C4H10O4. Erythritol is widely found in nature, such as fungal mushrooms, lichens, melons, grapes, pears, eyeball crystals, plasma, fetal fluid, semen, and urine of animals. a small amount can also be found in fermented food wine, beer, soy sauce, and Japanese sake.
Main properties of erythritol
(1) low sweetness: the sweetness of erythritol is only 60%-70% of sucrose, the entrance is cool, the taste is pure, and there is no after bitterness. it can be combined with high-power sweeteners to inhibit the bad flavor of high-power sweeteners.
(2) High stability: very stable to acid and heat, high acid and alkali resistance, no decomposition, and change below 200 degrees, no discoloration caused by Maillard reaction.
(3) High heat of solution: erythritol has an endothermic effect when dissolved in water, and the heat of dissolution is only 97.4KJ/KG, which is higher than that of glucose and sorbitol.
(4) Solubility: the solubility of erythritol at 25 ℃ is 37% (W/W). With the increase of temperature, the solubility of erythritol increases, and it is easy to crystallize and precipitate crystals.
(5) low hygroscopicity: erythritol is very easy to crystallize, but does not absorb moisture in a 90% humidity environment, and is easy to crush to get powdered products, which can be used on the food surface to prevent food from moisture absorption and deterioration.
Synthesis methods
The production of erythritol can be divided into two kinds: microbial fermentation and chemical synthesis.
1. Microbial fermentation
The production of erythritol by fermentation began in the 1990s, and microbial fermentation is used to produce erythritol in large quantities in the world. The carbon sources for the production of erythritol are alkanes, monosaccharides, and disaccharides. Glucose, fructose, mannose, and sucrose are all good carbon sources for the production of erythritol, but due to cost factors, starchy raw materials such as wheat or corn are mainly used.
The production process of erythritol fermentation is as follows:
Starch-liquefaction-saccharification-glucose-producing strain fermentation-filtration-chromatographic separation-purification-concentration-crystallization-separation-drying, and finally erythritol was obtained with an average yield of about 50%.
2. Chemical synthesis
In the chemical synthesis method, butanediol reacts with hydrogen peroxide, and then its aqueous solution is mixed with an active nickel catalyst and ammonia is added to pass hydrogen around 0.5MPa, and erythritol is obtained after hydrogenation. However, the production efficiency of the chemical method is low and industrial production has not yet been realized.
Benefits / good points of erythritol
1. Zero calorie
Erythritol is a zero-calorie sugar alcohol. Because of its small molecular weight, it is easy to be absorbed by the human body. At the same time, only a small amount of erythritol absorbed by the human body enters the human large intestine and is fermented by microorganisms. 80% of erythritol enters the human blood after being eaten by the human body, but can not be decomposed and metabolized by enzymes in the human body, does not provide energy for the body, does not participate in sugar metabolism, and can only be excreted from the human body through urine.
2.High tolerance
The tolerance of erythritol is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight, which is higher than that of xylitol, lactitol, and maltol. The main reason is that erythritol has a low molecular weight, low absorption and is mainly excreted through urine, thus avoiding diarrhea caused by hyperosmotic and flatulence caused by intestinal bacterial fermentation.
3.Caries resistance
Erythritol is not used by human oral bacteria, so it will not produce acidic substances to cause damage to teeth, which can lead to dental caries, inhibit the growth of oral bacteria, and thus play a role in protecting teeth.
Applications of erythritol
It can be used for sugar-free drinks, chocolate, baked products, table sugar, soft drinks, candy, health food, and so on.