Title: Alternative Sweeteners

250 Embuscado and Patil
V. SAFETY AND DIGESTIVE TOLERANCE
On the basis of numerous safety studies following FDA’s Redbook guidelines,
the safety of erythritol has been established. These include in vitro tests for mutagenicity
and clastogenicity; subchronic toxicity tests in mice, rats, and dogs;
chronic toxicity/carcinogenicity studies in rats and dogs; a multigeneration study
in rats, and two teratogenicity studies in rats and rabbits (27, 31, 32). Table 7
contains a summary of recent toxicity studies, which overwhelmingly support
the safety of erythritol as a food ingredient. On the basis of the entire safety data
package on erythritol, it is concluded that erythritol is safe for its intended use
in foods (27).
The digestive tolerance of erythritol compared with other polyols is given
in Table 8. Erythritol is highly tolerated by humans and by animals because it
is such a small molecule that it is immediately absorbed by the body and excreted
within 24 hr (80%). This rapid absorption at high concentration prevents the
accumulation of unabsorbed products in the large intestine, which may cause side
effects such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, and flatulence. Erythritol exhibits high
digestive tolerance even at high dosage levels.
Table 8 Digestive Tolerance Doses of Undigestible Sugars
Condition of testing
Undigestible Throughout Chronic
sugar Single load the day exposure Dose (g)
Erythritol — a 30–55
Xylitol — b 60–80
Sorbitol 10
30–40
Maltitol 20
60
Isomalt 20–30
(Palatinit) 50
Lactitol 50
a Single oral dosage did not alter plasma or urine osmolarity or electrolyte balance. Erythritol is well
tolerated by the digestive tract (42).
b Seven-day high-dosage ingestion using a double-blind, two-way crossover study in 12 healthy male
volunteers; sucrose used as a control. Erythritol was well tolerated and without any side effects
(32).
Source: Ref. 12 with modification.