Mannitol is an excellent functional sugar alcohol, which can be used in many fields such as medicine, food and chemical industry.

Mannitol is also known as D-mannitol. It has a pleasant sweetness, with a sweetness of 0.55-0.65 times that of sucrose. Among the functional sugar alcohols, mannitol is the only hexabasic sugar alcohol that is not easy to absorb moisture. It has suitable sweetness, low calories, and no toxic side effects. In the physiological metabolism of the human body, it has nothing to do with insulin and does not increase blood sugar. It does not cause dental caries, so it can be used as a sweetener for diabetic and obese patients.

Relevant studies have shown that about 50% of mannitol is finally used by the human body after being consumed, and its energy is only 8.36kJ/g, and after entering the human body, it does not need to be metabolized by insulin.

As a functional food ingredient, mannitol has a broad application prospect in the food field.

1. Develop foods for people with diabetes. The primary metabolic pathway of mannitol in the human body has nothing to do with insulin. After ingestion, it will not cause significant fluctuations in blood glucose and insulin levels, and can be consumed by people with diabetes.

2. For anti-caries sweets. Mannitol will not be used by oral microorganisms and can also inhibit the growth and reproduction of Streptococcus mutans, so it can be used to produce anti-caries sweet food. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration agreed to label "No dental caries" on sugar-free foods that use polyols such as mannitol.

3. Develop mannitol chewing gum. Mannitol has a refreshing sweetness, its sweetness is equivalent to 0.6 of sucrose, its dissolution endothermic is -29Cal/g, which is equivalent to 76% of xylitol (-38Cal/g). Using this feature, mannitol can be used as a sweetener and flavoring agent in the production of chewing gum.

4. Used as a moisture barrier. Unlike sorbitol and xylitol, mannitol is not easy to absorb moisture, and its solubility is only 18 g/100 g at 20°C, which is far lower than sorbitol, xylitol and maltitol. Therefore, it can be used as a moisture barrier to prevent adhesion during processing and use when it is used in chewing gum, gum and other foods.

In addition, mannitol does not participate in the Medela reaction. When used in food processing, the materials are not easy to coke, which helps to maintain the good color of the product and can be used for baking foods.

Mannitol can also mask the undesirable taste of other food additives, such as the rusty taste of saccharin, the bitter taste of other substances, etc., so it can be mixed with high-strength sweeteners for beverages, syrups and other foods, such as the production of confectionery, jam, Jelly etc. In addition, mannitol can also be used as a filler, quality improver, anti-caking agent, and can be added to various foods to extend its shelf life.