Xylitol is one of the most commonly used sugar substitute materials in daily life. It is widely used and has great development prospects. In recent years, xylitol has become popular all over the world, and its efficacy in preventing tooth decay has also been recognized. Xylitol itself is a class of sweet compounds with high nutritional value, which can be obtained naturally, and is an important intermediate of glucose metabolism in the human body.

Xylitol, widely found in birch, oak, corn cob and bagasse, can also be used as a natural sweetener. With the development of science and technology, xylitol has become one of the indispensable and important raw materials in the modern food industry, and its uses are very extensive. Especially in the food industry, it is more widely used. Xylitol is a white crystal or crystalline powder, easily soluble in water, slightly soluble in ethanol. The sweetness of xylitol is equivalent to that of sucrose, but it can still absorb most of the heat energy after being dissolved in water, and it is the type with the highest heat absorption coefficient among various sugar alcohol sweeteners. Xylitol is not cariogenic and has the function of preventing dental caries. Metabolism is not controlled by the body. For hypertensive patients, it is the best sugar substitute food. It is fully metabolized in the human body, with a calorific value of about 10kJ/g, which can supply heat and be used as a heat source for hypertensive patients.

Properties and functional characteristics of xylitol.

The sweetness of xylitol is 1.3 times that of sucrose, almost equal to the sweetness of sucrose, and can be replaced by sucrose at a ratio of 1:1. However, xylitol can only provide 10kg/g of energy, which is 40% lower than sucrose, so xylitol has become a good substitute for sugar in the production of low-energy desserts. Sugar-free foods made of xylitol have appeared on the market, which are very popular among modern young people who want to lose weight and advocate a healthy life. At the same time, compared with maltitol, mannitol and sorbitol, xylose muffins are closest to cakes, and the hygroscopicity of xylose can also improve the flavor. Xylitol used in food also contributes to the stability of microorganisms in desserts and the shelf life of finished products. This is because at the same concentration, the activity of xylitol in water is lower than that of sucrose in water.

Xylitol can be added to oral care products so that the acidic microorganisms in the mouth cannot use xylitol. In the human body, after slow digestion and absorption, xylitol can be quickly absorbed and used by cells through the cell membrane without relying on insulin metabolism, so it will not cause rapid fluctuations in blood sugar. Therefore, xylitol is often used as a sweetener for hypertensive patients.

The new application of xylitol - environmental protection.  

With the increasing demand for metal compounds, a large number of heavy metals have flowed into the mining area in different chemical forms. At present, in the current soil heavy metal treatment technology, chemical treatment technology has been widely used because of its low cost and quick effect. Among them, the extraction method is a widely used and mature chemical processing method. Soil leaching refers to the process of injecting or infiltrating the washing solution into the soil, making it flow through the soil layer to be treated, analyzing the pollutants in the soil, and then treating and reusing the washing solution containing the pollutants. The research work of a single eluent shows that a variety of chemical reagents such as EDTA and saponin can be used to remove heavy metal ions, but due to the diversity of heavy metals in the soil of the mining area, the effect of a single eluent is relatively small. 

In recent years, we believe that if the synergistic solvent effect mechanism of complex eluents is used, various eluents are purposefully applied to perform complex effects, thereby jointly completing the biochemical treatment of various types of non-ferrous heavy metals and other harmful soil substances. When the eluent is used at low doses, it not only achieves the highest removal of non-ferrous heavy metals in soil, but also reduces the detrimental effects of pouring agents on soil biochemical properties and bacterial populations.

In published articles, some scholars obtained the main research results after practice and research: The Xylitol-type HBP-COOH/L35 composite leaching agent has a strong leaching effect on contaminated soil and non-ferrous heavy metals in mining areas. The huge potential of xylitol opens up new ideas for environmental protection.

The development direction and significance of xylitol research.

In recent years, xylitol has been shown to improve dental health, reduce blood lipid buildup, improve bone strength and increase physical activity. Xylitol is also a functional sweetener widely used in various foods as a high-quality total bilirubin substitute for hypertension and obesity. At present, the key to xylitol research is to explore the prebiotic effect, action site and mode of action of xylitol through modern biological technology, and to explore more of its prebiotic effects, which will help to further expand its application space.