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Home > Maltitol News > Press Articles > Maltitol: a complete, functional sugar substitute
Maltitol: a complete, functional sugar substitute
August 2003
By Roquette, Lestrem - France
Reproduced courtesy of Innovations in Food Technology magazine, www.innovfoodtech.com - E-mail: innft@aol.com
A general trend in the food market is the development of healthy food products. Sugar-free confectionery is already on sale, while no-sugar-added baked goods are also becoming available, to name just two examples.
The major challenge is that, while demanding healthy products, the market also expects their taste and quality to be the same as standard sucrose-based products. Furthermore, while trying to meet this challenge food manufacturers naturally prefer to use their existing equipment and with only limited changes to recipes.
Sugar substitutes are a key to success but given the number on the market it is sometimes difficult for food manufacturers to identify the most appropriate. This article focuses on maltitol, the sugar substitute with both the bulking effect and the physical properties closest to sucrose. Maltitol's nutritional properties, too, are of decisive importance in the formulation of products that are both healthy and tasty.
Maltitol and sucrose: similar physical properties and sweetness
Sucrose is the reference sugar in many formulations and when food manufacturers want to replace it, their ultimate aim is to ensure that their new product matches the conventional one using sucrose.
The crystal properties and their behaviour in solution for various polyols compared to sucrose are shown in Figure 1.
| Sucrose |
Maltitol |
Lactitol |
Isomalt | |
| Commercial form | andydrous |
andydrous |
andydrous | dihydrate / andydrous |
|
Molecular weight (g/mol) |
342 | 344 | 362 | 355 |
| Sweetness | 1 |
0,9 |
0,4 | 0,5 |
| Heat of dissolution (kcal/g) | -4,3 | -6,3 | -3,9 | -9,4 |
| Solubility at 20° C (% DS) | 67 | 60 | 52 | 25 |
| Solubility at 50° C (% DS) | 72 | 70 | 74 | 45 |
| Melting point (°C) | 184 | 147 | 96 | 147 |
| HRE at 20° C (%) | 84 | 89 | 90 | 88 |
Figure 1: Comparison of physical properties of disaccharide polyols
The figure shows that MALTISORB® maltitol is the disaccharide polyol with the technological properties closest to those of sucrose. Isomalt has a much lower solubility, which may decrease flavour release and alter mouthfeel. Lactitol is commercially available in monohydrate form; in certain applications, eg chocolate, this will create difficulties in use. The sweetness of both isomalt and lactitol is very much less than that of sucrose, unlike maltitol, which is very close to sucrose in this respect.
A study carried out at Leatherhead Food Research Association compared the sweetness of the MALTISORB® maltitol to that of sucrose in terms not only of intensity but also of taste, aftertaste and mouthfeel. Their similarity is highlighted in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Comparison of organoleptic properties of sucrose and MALTISORB®
MALTISORB® is the only hydrogenated disaccharide with this kind of sweetness profile. Other disaccharide polyols with a lower sweetness value, such as lactitol and isomalt, require the addition of an intense sweetener, resulting in undoubted differences in taste.
Crystalline maltitol MALTISORB® can therefore replace sucrose weight-for-weight in all formulations without, moreover, requiring any changes in other ingredients. This simplicity of use makes MALTISORB® an invaluable sucrose substitute.
Maltitol: nutritional advantages
Since food manufacturers want to formulate products that are both health and tasty, nutritional properties of the polyols require as much attention as the technological ones that determine practical formulation. Since all hydrogenated disaccharides are sugar-free and safe for the teeth, the glycaemic index and digestive tolerance play a crucial role in success.
The glycaemic index (GI) is a key nutritional criterion in formulations for health. In sports food, for example, a high GI is required to give the body the maximum energy boost. By contrast, to prevent the development of type-2 diabetes over the mid- or long-term, a low GI is preferable, ie, low GI sweeteners are needed for low GI food formulations.
The current scientific consensus on GI specifies three groups:
- HIGH 70= GI < 100
- INTERMEDIATE 55< GI < 70
- LOW 0 < GI = 55.
Polyols are LOW GI components and can therefore contribute to the reduction of the glycaemic load of meals, provided they are incorporated in sufficient amounts in the diet.
Where as all polyols, when consumed in excessive amounts, may cause digestive problems, requiring a warning label in the EU if they exceed 10% of total food product content, polyols differ in this respect.
Numerous clinical studies have shown that maltitol has a higher tolerance threshold than other hydrogenated disaccharides, whatever the consumption scheme: acute (single dose, one day) or chronic (several doses per day over several days).
Thus, maltitol can be incorporated at a level sufficient to have a significant effect on glycaemic load reduction. Maltitol is therefore the polyol offering the best balance between all the relevant properties.
In conclusion, maltitol may confidently be considered to be a complete, functional sugar substitute. Technologically, it behaves like sucrose: its sweetness, properties in solution and behaviour on industrial lines are all similar. Nutritionally, its low glycaemic index, coupled with good tolerance, make it a component of choice for formulations that are both healthy and tasty. Maltitol's use in numerous applications such as chewing gum, candy, chocolate, bakery, biscuits, cake, fruit fillings, jam, etc, prove the point.
For further information contact
Roquette - 62080 Lestrem Cedex France
E-mail: foodbusiness@roquette.com
Or Tel: + 33 3 21 63 36 00
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