The Metabolic Fate of Hydrogenated Glucose Syrups

The physiological response to the ingestion of glucose and glucose syrups is well documented in the literature. More recently, hydrogenated glucose syrups have become available but little is known of their physiological effect in man although sorbitol (hydrogenated glucose) has been used for many years in diabetic foods. Some metabolic effects of maltitol (hydrogenated maltose), which is a major component in hydrogenated syrups, have been described but the results obtained are equivocal. Our present work concerns physiological studies of hydrogenated glucose syrups and maltitol in animals and human subjects. In rats it has been shown that maltitol is utilized in some quantity by the gut microflora as shown by differences between conventional and germ‐free animals. Intravenously injected maltitol is excreted almost quantitatively in the urine producing no significant rise in blood glucose. This contrasts sharply with intravenously injected maltose which induces a significant blood glucose rise and of which less than 10% is excreted in the urine. In human subjects hydrogenated glucose syrup may be tolerated at levels between 80 and 120g per day without diarrhoea. Our studies indicate that although after an oral dose maltitol and hydrogenated glucose syrup induce lowered blood glucose and serum insulin peak values, compared with glucose, total influx of the three carbohydrates shows no difference. This may have importance regarding the use of maltitol and hydrogenated glucose syrup in diabetic foods. Long term feeding trials with human subjects, using maltitol and hydrogenated glucose syrup as the sole dietary carbohydrates, show that some adaption to the carbohydrates occurs during the trial as judged by elevated blood glucose and serum insulin peak values at the end of the trial compared with initial values.