"Three low" natural good raw materials: Isomalt

Xylitol is a natural sweetener extracted from birch trees, oak trees, corn cobs, sugar cane bagasse and other plants. As a food additive, it has a history of more than 100 years abroad. Isomalt is also known as palatinitol. At the end of the 20th century, countries and regions such as Europe, the United States, Japan and South Korea began to use isomalt in large quantities in the food and pharmaceutical fields; in 2008, China approved Isomalt is a new resource food.

Physical and chemical properties

Both xylitol and isomalt have some common characteristics of polyols: high melting point, good solubility, easy to use, stable in high temperature, acidic, and alkaline environments, will not decompose when heated, and will not produce caramel flavor or have Maillard browning reaction and cannot be utilized by most microorganisms. However, they also have clear differences:

Hygroscopicity

Xylitol is highly hygroscopic and is suitable for making foods or products that require moisturizing, and can maintain softness for longer period of time. Isomalt is basically non-hygroscopic and is suitable for processing chocolate candies, crispy biscuits and other foods.

Taste and solubility

Xylitol has a high heat of dissolution and can absorb a large amount of heat when dissolved in water. It has the highest heat absorption value among all sugar alcohols. When consumed in solid form, it will produce a pleasant cooling sensation in the mouth. Isomalt does not have this characteristic.

Isomalt has a pure sweetness and is currently recognized as the sugar alcohol closest to the sweetness of sucrose. Isomalt is less soluble than xylitol and dissolves slowly in the mouth.

Physical and chemical properties of xylitol and isomalt

Physical and chemical properties	xylitol	Isomalt
state	White crystal or crystalline powder	White crystal particles or powder
Sweetness degree	0.60-1.00	0.45-0.65
Sweetness feeling	Cool feeling, no odor	Pure sweetness and no peculiar smell
calorie	10 kJ/g	10 kJ/g
Classification	Food additives-sweeteners	New food ingredients
heat of solution	-152.716 kJ/g	-0.0394 kJ/g
Hygroscopicity	Easy to absorb moisture	Low hygroscopicity
stability	Stable at high temperatures, acids, and alkalis, and does not cause Maillard reaction or caramelization reaction.	Stable at high temperatures, acids, and alkalis, and does not cause Maillard reaction or caramelization reaction.

Features

Xylitol and isomalt cannot be utilized by oral microorganisms, do not cause dental caries, have low caloric value, and will not cause large fluctuations in blood sugar after consumption. In terms of tolerance, isomalt has a higher tolerance level.

Functional properties of xylitol and isomalt

Features	xylitol	Isomalt
Non-cariogenic	Cannot be utilized by oral microorganisms, is non-cariogenic and has anti-caries properties	It is difficult to be decomposed and utilized by Streptococcus mutans in the oral cavity and does not cause dental caries.
low calorie	Calories are about 60% of sucrose	The calories are about half of sucrose, and the digestion and absorption rate is low after ingestion.
low glycemic	GI value 7 Will not cause large fluctuations in blood sugar after consumption	GI value 2 Slow blood sugar response after eating
Tolerance	The recommended dosage is more than 10g per day for adults, and about 5g per day for infants aged 3-4 years old. A healthy human body can normally tolerate a single dose of 10-30g without diarrhea.	FAO/WHO no limit on daily intake China new resource food consumption regulations are ≤100g/day

Application features

Both xylitol and isomalt can be used as low-calorie sweeteners, suitable for diabetic patients; both have non-caries properties and are used to make anti-caries foods and oral products; both xylitol and isomalt have moisturizing effects , and most microorganisms cannot be used, so it will not cause cosmetics to deteriorate; they can all be used in cigarettes to enhance flavor and moisturize.

Xylitol can be used in appropriate amounts in various foods according to production needs, but isomalt cannot be used in infant foods.

Application characteristics of xylitol and isomalt

application characteristic		common characteristics	difference
application characteristic		common characteristics	xylitol	Isomalt
food	candy	Sweetener, filler, acid and heat stable, non-cariogenic, low calorie, low glycemic	Cool taste and high sweetness, no need to mix with other strong sweeteners	Combined with high-intensity sweeteners to achieve ideal sweetness and shield odors
	chocolate	Sweetener, non-caiogenic, low calorie, low glycemic	It needs to be finely ground into powder, which is easy to absorb moisture, and the humidity is >80%, resulting in a rough and sandy structure.	Easy to grind into fine powder, with a delicate and smooth taste, which can highlight the cocoa flavor
	chewing gum	Sweetener, cleans teeth, does not cause dental caries	Negative dissolution heat, cool taste	Low solubility, long lasting sweetness
	Popcorn	Sweetener, high thermal stability	Less application, easy to absorb moisture	Extremely low hygroscopicity, not easy to stick, maintain crispy texture
	Roasted Nuts	sweetener	Less application, easy to absorb moisture, not easy to bake	Does not absorb moisture and maintains crispy texture
	baked goods	Sweetener, non-caiogenic, low calorie, low glycemic, acid and heat stable, does not cause Maillard reaction	Easy to absorb moisture, suitable for cakes, etc., maintain softness	Low hygroscopicity, can keep biscuits, cookies, etc. crispy
	Beverage Dairy	Sweetener, non-cariogenic, low calorie, acid and heat stable, proliferates bifidobacteria, does not cause Maillard reaction	High sweetness, no need for high-intensity sweeteners, refreshing taste, solid drinks are easy to absorb moisture	Pure sweetness, compounded with high-intensity sweetener, masking odor and low hygroscopicity
	Meat and aquatic products	/	Water retaining agent, antifreeze agent, improve product flavor and extend shelf life	/
	Meat and aquatic products	/		/
tobacco	cigarette	Moisturizer	/	/
Daily chemicals	oral cavity	Non-caries	Refreshing feeling	/
Daily chemicals	Skin care	Moisturizing High stability	Refreshing feeling	/