Title: Alternative Sweeteners

Polydextrose 513
H. Soft Candy
The use of polydextrose as a partial sugar replacement in soft candy serves two
key functions: providing bulk and humectancy (28, 29).
I. Other Categories
Sweet sauces, toppings and syrups (30), peanut spreads (31, 32), and fruit spreads
(33) are newly approved categories for polydextrose and demonstrate the flexibility
of the ingredient across a range of applications where sugar is reduced or
replaced.
VII. METABOLISM
The basis for the 1 calorie per gram caloric value of polydextrose lies in the
difficulty that mammalian digestive enzymes have in attacking a large and randomly
bonded polymer. Extensive feeding studies with man and animals have
confirmed the caloric contribution (1, 34–39).
The definitive work on the metabolism of polydextrose studied the disposition
of 14 C radiolabeled polydextrose in feeding studies. The caloric value of 1
calorie per gram and the testing method were fully endorsed by the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration (5).
A portion of the polydextrose molecule is metabolized in the intestinal tract
by microorganisms. As by-products of this metabolism, these microorganisms
produce volatile fatty acids and carbon dioxide. The volatile fatty acids are absorbed
in the large intestine and used as an energy source. Therefore, it is the
microbial function that contributes the 1 calorie per gram of ingested polydextrose.
This is a phenomenon common to essentially any complex carbohydrate
in the diet.
Another area of metabolism that has been closely investigated is the effect
of polydextrose on insulin demand and the implications of this on use by diabetic
patients. Studies show that the use of polydextrose does not create an insulin
demand using glucose tolerance techniques.
As described previously, tests show that polydextrose has a very low cariogenicity
potential.
VIII. TOLERANCE
Numerous clinical studies show that polydextrose is well tolerated when consumed
in moderation as part of a normal daily diet. This has been confirmed by
consumer results in the years since polydextrose has been approved.