Title: Alternative Sweeteners

Isomalt 271
temperature than sucrose/corn syrup to obtain the required water content in the
melt.
B. Chemical Properties
Isomalt is extremely resistant to chemical degradation because of its very stable
1–6 bond between the mannitol or sorbitol moiety and the glucose moiety. When
the crystalline substance is heated above the melting point or the aqueous solution
above the boiling point, no changes in the molecular structure are observed. No
caramelization or other discoloration develops during the melting, extrusion, or
baking processes. In general, isomalt does not react with other ingredients in the
formulation (e.g., with amino acids to produce Maillard reactions) (melanoids).
The stability of isomalt during acid hydrolysis was measured at 100°C in1%
hydrochloric acid (4, 9). Figure 6 illustrates that under these conditions sucrose
is hydrolyzed in less than 5 minutes. In contrast, isomalt is only completely split
after 5 hours. In an alkaline milieu, isomalt also shows a much higher resistance
Figure 6 Hydrolysis of isomalt and sucrose versus time in a 1% HCl solution at 100°C.