Mannitol is a pyrol, which is an alcohol derived from sugar. It can be found in abundance in nature. It was originally purified from manna, also known as flowering ash. For over 60 years, it has been used in a variety of pharamceutical products and food addictives given its unique functionalities.
Mannitol is nonhygroscopic, which means it does not absorb moisture. This distinctive property makes it perfect to be utilized in the manufactuing of bubble gums as dusting powder to prevent the gums from sticking to surfaces including equipment and wrappers. Another unique property is its high melting point, which makes it an ideal agent in chocolate-flavored coatings on ice creams. Furthermore, mannitol can act as a sweetner with reduced calorie of only 1.6 calories per gram. A sweetner like mannitol is especially beneficial to patients with diabetes. The increase in blood glucose inducing insulin production is much less after the ingestion of mannitol than sucrose. In addition, unlike regular sugar, mannitol plays no role in tooth decay. It cannot be broken down by bacteria inhabiting in the oral cavity and hence, does not increase the acidity in the mouth after consumption. Pyrols with this advantage are recommended as alternatives to sugar by organizations including the American Dental Association and The Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Mannitol acts as a low calorie sweetner to humans because it is only partially absorbed by the small intestine. The colonic bacteria would metabolize the left over, producing more intestinal gas and causing softer stools. Users should beaware of excess consumption of such low digestible carbohydrates, which could cause symptoms including constipation. Manufacturers are required to put a label on products which would result in consumption of 20g or more of mannitol under normal circumstances by the FDA.
The wide usage of mannitol is permitted by FDA food addidctive regulations (21 CFR 180.25). Mannitol is also deemed safe by the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Addictives (JECFA). JECFA has recommended an Acceptable Dietary Intake of 0 ~ 50mg per kg of body mass.
References:References: (1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-Mannitol (2) http://www.polyol.org/fap/fap_mannitol.html
