Is Xylitol Powder Bad for You?
Xylitol was approved by the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (JECFA) in the 1970s as a Class A food additive and is recognized as a safe food with no ADI value. The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) adopted in June 1999 as one of the “food additives that can be used in food in accordance with normal production requirements” food sugar alcohols. Because it and other sugar alcohols, higher energy and sweetness, proven by domestic and foreign research, and has the prevention of dental caries, improve the condition of diabetic patients, the elimination of blood ketosis, improve liver function and other special physiological functions. 1999, our country through the animal and human testing, the first time to prove that xylitol and oligosaccharide, as with the proliferation of bifidobacteria, by domestic and foreign parties concerned about the function of xylitol.
1 Xylitol in nature
Xylitol is widely found in various fruits and vegetables in nature, and its content in various foods can be measured by thin-layer chromatography or chromatography. wdahfi et al. measured the following results.
Xylitol was approved by the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in the 1970s as a Class A food additive and is recognized as a safe food with no ADI value. The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) adopted in June 1999 as one of the “food additives that can be used in food in accordance with normal production requirements” food sugar alcohols. Because it and other sugar alcohols, have higher energy and sweetness, by domestic and foreign research has proved, and has the prevention of dental caries, improve the condition of diabetic patients, eliminate ketosis, improve liver function and some other special physiological functions. 1999, our country through the animal and human testing, the first time to prove that xylitol and oligosaccharide, as with the proliferation of bifidobacteria, by domestic and foreign parties concerned about the function of xylitol.
1.1 Xylitol in nature
In nature, xylitol is widely found in all kinds of fruits and vegetables, and the content of xylitol in all kinds of food can be measured by thin-layer chromatography or chromatography. wdahfi et al. measured the results as follows. The general sweetness comparison is the sweetness of a 10% aqueous solution at 20℃. However, due to the concentration, temperature and other influences, the sweetness will also change, for example, in higher than 10%, xylitol than the same sucrose solution sweeter, so some information that the sweetness of xylitol is sucrose 100%, when the concentration is less than 1.0%, xylitol is not as sweet as sucrose. When there are other salts in the aqueous solution, it will also change its sweetness, and xylitol shows the highest sweetness when it contains 0.06% of table salt. Elevated temperatures also affect sweetness, for example, to make a cup of sweet coffee, 13 grams of xylitol is used instead of 10 grams of sucrose.
Xylitol has a sweetness similar to that of sucrose, a similar appearance, and some of the properties of table sugar, so it can be used as a sweetener in food processing. The difference in physical properties between xylitol and sucrose.
2 Caries prevention properties of xylitol
Sugar is a nutritious sweet food enjoyed by the general public, especially children. Sugar is also a health food for patients other than diabetics, and is contained in many medicines. However, too much sugar is not good for you either, as it increases the concentration of sugar in the blood and requires more insulin to be consumed. Another problem with eating too much sugar is the development of dental caries. Children in cities rarely have intact teeth because they eat too much sugar. In view of these problems, many scientists have been looking for new sugar substitutes for many years, so that healthy people can eat without caries. The more mature nutritional sugar substitutes in foreign countries are mainly sorbitol and mannitol, which are similar in appearance to sucrose, but the sweetness is too poor, only half of that of sucrose, and so are not ideal. As an ideal nutritive sweetener, in addition to non-caries and not affecting the blood glucose value of diabetics, it is best if the sweetness is similar to sucrose, and can be consumed and used in the food processing industry just like sucrose.
Xylitol has long been tested for caries prevention in rats by replacing sugar with xylitol, which proved to be non-caries-inducing. A more comprehensive and long term test by human was conducted by the Dental Research Institute of Turku University, Finland, who conducted a total of two years of dietary tests and one year of chewing gum tests from 1973 to 1975. There were 125 participants in the dietary trial, divided into three groups, who consumed a variety of sweet foods made from regular sugar (sucrose), fructose, xylitol, including baked goods, canned foods, candied foods, fresh juices, beverages, and candies, etc. Of the 125 participants, 35 consumed a regular sugar diet, 38 substituted fructose for sugar, and 52 substituted xylitol for sugar altogether. All participants had different degrees of dental caries. During the test, each participant maintained his/her normal dietary habits and was supplied with the above foods free of charge, and daily records were kept, including clinical chemistry and biochemistry tests. After two years of results, it was convincingly demonstrated that xylitol reduces the incidence of dental caries by 90% compared to sucrose, and fructose reduces it by 30% compared to sucrose, in two years. The new caries figures by population were: 7.2 in the sugar group, 3.8 in the fructose group and 0.0 in the xylitol group.
On the basis of the above results, the University of Turku conducted a controlled trial of chewing gum against tooth decay, in which all dental students took part, adding an average of 4-5 pieces of chewing gum per day for one year, still according to their dental hygiene and dietary habits, with the first group of 50 eating chewing gum containing ordinary table sugar and the second group eating chewing gum containing xylitol. As a result of the one-year test, the group that ate chewing gum with regular table sugar showed 2.9 new caries, while the group that ate xylitol chewing gum had almost no new caries, even though they usually ate foods containing sugar. Moreover, some of the existing caries symptoms were reduced after eating xylitol gum.
The test shows that xylitol has the function of preventing caries because xylitol is not utilized by caries-producing bacteria; xylitol does not produce acid in the oral cavity, but becomes neutral in the oral cavity, which prevents the teeth from being eroded by acid. This test result in Finland can be regarded as an outstanding discovery, which shows that fructose can reduce dental caries and xylitol can prevent dental caries.
China in 1986 by the Zhejiang Kaifa Huakang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. in the local 184 cases of primary school students to carry out taking xylitol to prevent dental caries test. The test period from May 1986 to May 1987 a total of one year. The results proved that the caries prevention rate reached 76.43%. The protection index of the experimental and control groups was 5.1:1. Internationally, great attention has been paid to the use of xylitol as a sweetener in caries-preventive foods. Sugar-free chewing gums account for 90% in Northern Europe and more than 50% in Western Europe. In the United States, xylitol-containing chewing gum and other food products are sold in health food stores. In recent years, a large number of xylitol-containing sugar-free chewing gums have appeared on the market in China, such as Yida and Wrigley's sugar-free chewing gums, which are labeled as containing more than 50% xylitol, and the xylitol-containing sugar-free chewing gums of brands such as Beijie and Lotte.
3 Characteristics and applications of xylitol as a sugar substitute
Compared with sucrose, xylitol has many other characteristics in terms of physical properties, which should be utilized to produce various kinds of delicious foods.
3.1 Characteristics
3.1.1 Coolness of xylitol.
Xylitol has a natural cooling sensation in the mouth, which is due to the fact that the heat of dissolution of xylitol is almost 10 times greater than that of sucrose. This is because xylitol has a heat of dissolution almost 10 times greater than that of sucrose. Therefore, when xylitol crystals are added to a variety of foods, they provide a cool sensation and enhance the flavor of foods such as peppermint and spearmint. However, drinks made from dissolved xylitol do not have a cooling sensation when consumed.
3.1.2 Xylitol does not produce “Melad” browning reaction when heated.
When sucrose is heated in food processing, it reacts with amino acids to produce a melard reaction, i.e. the aldehyde group of sugar reacts with amino acids to produce a brown substance with a caramel flavor. This is essential for bread production. However, it is a problem for the majority of food products. This is because of the darkening of the color of the food as a result of the Merad reaction. Xylitol, on the other hand, does not react with amino acids and is relatively stable during food processing, which makes it particularly useful for replacing sucrose with xylitol in foods that need to maintain a light color. For example, in the production of ketchup, the addition of sucrose results in a gradual darkening of the color during processing and even during preservation. When xylitol is used instead of sucrose in the production of ketchup, the color stays brighter for a longer period of time and does not change easily even after the lid is opened. When xylitol is used to replace sucrose in the production of white confectionery, it will not cause browning on the surface and will remain white and bright through the heating and ripening process.
3.1.3 Hygroscopicity of xylitol
Pure sucrose is seldom hygroscopic, but xylitol has different hygroscopicity under different relative humidity.
Because of its hygroscopicity, xylitol is not suitable for the production of brittle and dry food products. For example, if xylitol is used to replace sucrose in the production of cookies, the cookies will become soft if they are baked and left in the air for a long time. However, xylitol retains its softness longer than sucrose when used in the production of softer snacks.
3.1.4 Xylitol is not fermentable and is a poor medium for microorganisms
Because of this property, xylitol can extend the shelf life of food products. For example, jams are susceptible to spoilage during storage, especially after opening. If xylitol is used as a substitute for sucrose in the production of jam, the jam can be preserved for a longer period of time than normal jam.
3.2 Application
China is the main producer and exporter of xylose and xylitol in the world. It produces tens of thousands of tons of products every year, and about 90% of them are exported to foreign countries. They are mainly consumed in functional foods such as sugar-free chewing gum. However, there should be an equally large domestic market that has not yet attracted much attention. There are several types of xylitol food products that have been produced in China, which can be used as reference for further research and development of xylitol food products.
3.2.1 Xylitol Chewing Gum
Sorbitol is used in a large number of sugar-free chewing gums abroad, mainly because it is cheap. However, the sweetness of sorbitol is only half of that of sucrose, and sometimes it is necessary to add artificial sweeteners in chewing gums, and the anti-caries effect of single sorbitol is not as good as that of gum arabic to adjust the chewing gums made of xylitol, and there is a clear sense of coolness when eating. The use of xylitol as chewing gum, sweetness and sucrose, only viscosity is less than sucrose, xylitol in the mouth to stay for a period of time, can enhance its anti-caries effect. Beijing Yili Food Company had a trial production of anti-caries chewing gum, the original glucose syrup, with glycerin, gum arabic, xylitol instead.
The production process is first put the gum in the mixer at 40 ~ 45 ℃ to make softening, and stirred into the liquid xylitol, and then added in batches of powdered xylitol, and finally add spices and glycerin, and then molding and cutting. The whole process is not much different from the conventional method, but it should be noted that due to the low melting point of xylitol, it is necessary to prevent the mill from heating up when crushing, otherwise it will make the xylitol melt into cakes and sticky, affecting production.
3.2.2 Chocolate
In the production of chocolate, xylitol is used as a substitute for sucrose. The only problem is the low viscosity of xylitol, which can be solved by adjusting the recipe or adding an appropriate amount of additives. Xylitol has good shell formation properties when used in chocolate coating, but the relative humidity in the chocolate production area should not exceed a maximum of 85%. Xylitol chocolate is produced and marketed by the Beijing Yili Food Company and the Guangzhou Confectionery Factory.
3.2.3 Beverages
Xylitol is used to replace sucrose in all kinds of beverages without changing their flavor. The Guangdong Beverage Factory has used xylitol in the trial production of tangerine juice and sour mast juice, which have been evaluated and reflected well. Guangdong Canning Factory adopts natural guava juice plus xylitol (dosage 10%) to make “Jia Vita” fruit juice canned food, which is applied to diabetic patients' therapeutic food and has certain therapeutic effect after clinical test by relevant hospitals in Guangzhou City. And sold to Hong Kong and other places. However, it must be noted that drinking a large amount of xylitol drinks at one time will lead to diarrhea at one time, and it is advisable to specify this on the label of the product.
Xylitol can also be used as an instant drink, there is a recipe in Switzerland, with 903 grams of xylitol, 60 grams of citric acid, 35 grams of sodium carbonate, 1.5 grams of orange essence, 0.3 grams of coloring. Packed into each package of 11 grams, washed into 100 ~ 150 ml of water, that is, a cup of cool drinks. China's Guangzhou Institute of Daily-use Chemistry trial made orange flavor fruit flavoring, also formulated with xylitol, and by the relevant hospital clinical evidence, diabetic patients drink with therapeutic effects.
3.2.4 Alcohol
Xylitol can be used as an additive for alcohol to improve the quality of alcohol. Japanese research believes that adding 0.5~3% xylitol can improve the color and flavor of alcohol, for example, adding 0.3% xylitol to synthetic sake to replace glucose can make the sake fragrant and mellow, with soft sweetness, and it has the property of reducing the incurred microbial spoilage. Similar results were achieved by adding 0.5-2% xylitol to whiskey. Adding 1.5% in white wine can make the taste of white wine smooth and mellow. Baoding distillery will xylitol applied to red grain Daqu, the amount of 1%, as a flavoring agent, after tasting that, than the modulation of the aroma before the rich and full, pure and thick taste, aftertaste sweet and long.
3.2.5 Fruit
Xylitol is easy to crystallize, does not produce glassy body, so it can not be used alone to produce hard sugar, foreign reports have added natural polymer and sorbitol to manufacture hard sugar patent. In the production of soft candy, there are reports of adding hydrogenated starch as ingredient to make toffee. Beijing Yili Food Company has been producing xylitol milk sugar by mixing xylitol and milk powder for many years. Xylitol milk sugar, sweet taste, by diabetics long-term consumption, proved to have a certain therapeutic effect. There is also a kind of xylitol directly pressed into tablets or blocks of xylitol food. Small like tablets (Beijing Jianli Pharmaceutical and Hebei Baoshuo Group Sugar Alcohol Branch is sold), large such as sugar cubes. This is xylitol pre-treated, adding the necessary ingredients and then pressed. The Finnish market offers a mint tablet called “birch sugar”, which contains 99.25% xylitol. In the Hong Kong market, a “thirst-quenching crystal” sugar cube is sold, which is indicated to be for diabetic patients and is also made from xylitol.
3.2.6 Sugar substitutes in the home
Since diabetic patients, like healthy people, have a natural taste for sweets, they still need sugar substitutes after getting sick. The creation of xylitol provides an ideal sugar substitute for diabetics in the home. Every morning drink milk or soymilk, can xylitol flavor, noon and night staple food, can use xylitol as bean buns, sugar buns, bee cake, sweet porridge; can also be dipped as sugar; in the dishes, xylitol can be used instead of sucrose to make sweet and sour spare ribs, sweet and sour fish. In short, how to eat sucrose before getting sick, after getting diabetes, how to eat xylitol, but the total amount of food per day, the best adult not more than 50 grams.
4 Xylitol consumption standards
The application of xylitol in oral nutrition for diabetic patients in China started in 1972, and it has been applied in food for many years. As early as 1978, the Food Fermentation Research Institute of the Ministry of Light Industry (MOLI), together with other relevant parties, drafted the standards and testing methods for xylitol for food consumption with reference to the oral specifications of glucose, sorbitol and mannitol at home and abroad. In addition, a national quality standard meeting for edible xylitol was held in Baoding, Hebei, China with the participation of Food Bureau of Ministry of Light Industry, Scientific Research Institute, Information Institute, Sugar Cane Sugar Food Institute, Chemical Import and Export Corporation of Ministry of Foreign Trade, Beijing First Light Industry Bureau, Hebei First Light Industry Bureau, Baoding Light Industry Bureau, Beijing Pharmaceutical Inspection Institute, Beijing Pharmaceutical Factory, Hebei Bureau of Commodity Inspection, Beijing Fuxing Hospital, the Third Hospital of Baoding, Beijing Pharmaceutical Factory, Beijing Yili Food Factory, and so on.
Xylitol
Molecular Formula: C₅H₁₂O₅ Molecular Weight: 152.15
Properties: white powdery or granular crystals, sweet taste, no odor. It is soluble in water, slightly soluble in alcohol and methanol.
Identification: Take 0.5g of this product, add hydrochloric acid 0 . Take 0.5g of this product, add 0.5ml of hydrochloric acid and 0.1g of lead dioxide, put it on the water bath and heat it for 15 minutes, it should produce yellowish green precipitate.
1.Scope of application: This product can be used by diabetic patients as sugar substitute for candy, canned food, fruit juice, jam and other functional food.
2. Quality indexes:
(1) Appearance: The product is white crystal with sweet and cool taste and no peculiar odor.
Solubility: the aqueous solution of this product is clear and transparent.
(2) Alcohol content: 98% (dry basis) or more.
(3)Loss on drying: below 2.2%.
(4)Scorch residue: 0.4% or less.
(5)Reducing sugar: 0.5% or less.
(6)Arsenic: 0.0002% or less.
(7) heavy metals (pb) 0.0008% or less, of which the nickel content does not exceed 0.0003%. This standard, followed by the National Technical Committee for Standardization of Food Additives in 1992 in accordance with national conditions to develop a national standard for xylitol. In 2002, the revision of GB13509 for xylitol was carried out, and now the technical indexes have all adopted the international FAO/WTO and FCC IV standards.