Title: Alternative Sweeteners

Trehalose 441
additive in Japan in 1995 and as a food ingredient in Korea and Taiwan in 1998.
Hayashibara International Inc. self-affirmed trehalose as GRAS in May of 2000,
and received a letter of no objection from the U.S. FDA in October 2000. In the
United States the use of Hayashibara trehalose is limited only by current Good
Manufacturing Practices. JECFA reviewed the safety profile of trehalose in June
of 2000, and assigned the Acceptable Daily Intake as ‘‘not specified.’’ Currently
regulatory approval is being sought in Europe.
XII. APPLICATIONS
Numerous published and unpublished studies have shown that relatively low concentrations
of trehalose in food formulations can reduce sweetness; stabilize protein
matrices, flavors, colors and fatty acids; reduce starch retrogradation; maintain
the texture of coatings; and prevent weeping (25, 27, 29, 30, 47, 48, HBC,
unpublished data, 1997).
A. Protein Stabilization
Trehalose appears more effective in stabilizing proteins against damage caused
by drying or freezing than other sugars tested (28–30). Trehalose has also been
shown to help maintain delicate protein structures after thawing and to stabilize
disulfide bonds, thereby inhibiting the formation of odors and off-flavors.
HBC found that a 5% addition of trehalose to an egg white preparation,
subsequently frozen for 5 days and then thawed resulted in almost no protein
denaturation compared with a control preparation (Fig. 7). Protein denaturation
was measured by the change in turbidity before and after freezing. Relative denaturation
of preparations containing other sugars ranged from 14–58% (HBC, unpublished
data, 1997).
In a second example, pulverized carrots were mixed with 10% (w/w) of
various sugars. Samples were dried for 64 hours at 40°C and stored for 7 days.
The superoxide dismutase (SOD)–like activity was measured (Fig. 8). Trehalose
appeared to maintain three times as much SOD-like activity as sucrose (HBC,
unpublished data, 1997). Studies using seven other vegetables dried with and
without trehalose showed a similar SOD-like protective activity. Preservation of
enzymes under various stress conditions has been reported by others (29, 41).
The effect of trehalose on protein stability was also demonstrated in a
coffee/milk drink. A 3% addition of trehalose (25% of added sugar) reduced the
coagulation of casein during sterilization at 121°C for 5 minutes and suppressed
color, taste, and pH changes during subsequent storage (Hayashibara, unpublished
data, 1997).