Untitled

CONFIDENTIAL
Regulatory Affairs &
Nutrition Communication – AJ/Se
28 May 2008
Page 2 of 16
1. Isomaltulose - What it is!
Isomaltulose is a carbohydrate which occurs in minor amounts naturally in honey and sugar
cane juice (Siddiqui and Furgala 1967; Eggleston and Grisham 2003). In 1957,
SÜDZUCKER discovered and described isomaltulose for the first time (Weidenhagen and
Lorenz 1957). This was the basis for the commercial, large scale production of
isomaltulose, which takes place in Offstein, Germany. An enzyme (non-GMO) transfers the
α-1,2 linkage in sucrose to an α-1,6 linkage. This glucose-fructose combination is
isomaltulose (6-O-α-D-glucopyranosyl-D-fructofuranose) (Figure 1).
HO
HO
Sucrose
OH
O
OH
1 O
OH
1
O
2 HO
OH
[glucose] [fructose]
OH
6
Enzyme
HO
HO
PalatinoseTM PalatinoseTM OH
O
OH
[glucose]
1
6
O
(isomaltulose)
OH
OH
OH
O
OH
2
1
[fructose]
Figure 1: Enzymatic rearrangement of sucrose to isomaltulose (Palatinose).
Isomaltulose is a food / food ingredient (like e.g. sugar, starch or maltodextrin). It has been
used as such in Japan and other Asian countries since 1985. Its food status was confirmed
in the European Union as well after undergoing the novel food approval process.
SÜDZUCKER / PALATINIT’s Isomaltulose was approved as a novel food / novel food
ingredient for use in food in the EU by Commission Decision 2005/251/EC of 25 th July
2005. And it received GRAS status by FDA acknowledgement in March 2006 (FDA 2006).
Compared to sucrose, isomaltulose has different key physiological properties, though:
• It is hydrolysed by the same enzyme complex as is necessary for sucrose hydrolysis
in the small intestine, but hydrolysis takes place at a much lower rate.
• It is fully digested (as sucrose) yet slowly (and thus is not a low digestible but a SLOW
digestible carbohydrate).
• Its characteristic stable bond (α-1,6) is well known from starch, rather than from
sugars.
• Isomaltulose provides the same amount of energy yet in a more constant flow and
within a lower insulin profile. Isomaltulose has a low effect on blood glucose and
insulin levels.
• Extreme blood glucose fluctuations and in particular a drastic fall below fasting
glucose concentrations into the so-called relative hypoglycaemia, physiological