Sugar Alcohols

Sugar alcohols, commonly referred to as polyols in nutrition, are carbohydrate-derived compounds with multiple hydroxyl groups. Examples used in foods include sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, erythritol, maltitol, lactitol, and isomalt. They occur naturally in some foods and can also be manufactured for use as sweeteners and bulking ingredients .^1,2

Sugar alcohols generally taste sweet but differ from ordinary sugars such as glucose and sucrose in their chemical structure and metabolism. Their sweetness varies substantially, and most provide less metabolizable energy per gram than sucrose. Many polyols are incompletely absorbed in the small intestine, although the extent differs between compounds. Erythritol is an important exception because most of it is absorbed in the small intestine and subsequently excreted largely unchanged in urine .^1,2

Polyols that are not absorbed can pass into the large intestine, where they may contribute to osmotic water retention and, depending on the compound, undergo fermentation by the gut microbiota. Their absorption and fermentation therefore differ considerably among individual polyols. At sufficiently large amounts, poorly absorbed polyols can produce gastrointestinal effects such as increased gas or laxation, with both the dose and the specific polyol influencing the response .²

Sugar alcohols are distinct from high-intensity sweeteners. Polyols are generally used in gram quantities and can provide bulk as well as sweetness, whereas high-intensity sweeteners such as sucralose or saccharin produce strong sweetness in very small quantities. The word alcohol in sugar alcohol refers to chemical structure and does not mean that these compounds are ethanol, the alcohol found in alcoholic beverages .^1,2