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CONFIDENTIAL
Regulatory Affairs &
Nutrition Communication – AJ/Se
28 May 2008
Page 4 of 16
Various in vitro studies with material from different species (rat, pig, human) addressed the
rate of hydrolysis of isomaltulose versus sucrose or maltose and showed a rate of
hydrolysis of typically less than 25 % that of sucrose (Table 1).
Table 1: Rate of hydrolysis of isomaltulose in vitro
Species Rate of hydrolysis of isomaltulose (%)
Reference
Versus sucrose Versus maltose
Pig 10 – 20 2 – 5 Dahlqvist, 1961
Pig 5.6 4.7 Heinz, 1987
Rat 11.8 4.4 Yamada et al., 1985
Rat 11.4 2.4 Tsuji et al., 1986
Rat 1.8 3.7 Heinz, 1987
Human 44.7 11 Grupp & Siebert, 1978
Human 12.7 9 Ziesenitz, 1986a
Human 26* 8* Ziesenitz, 1986b
Human 16 18 Heinz, 1987
*5 sugars added in a mixed preparation; in all other studies sugars added individually.
Isomaltulose is virtually completely absorbed in the small intestine
The absorption of isomaltulose was observed using various study designs and species.
Recovery of radio labelled isomaltulose was compared to labelled sucrose in a rat study
that showed a similar metabolism of both sugars (Macdonald and Daniel 1983).
Absorption in the small intestine was examined in a study using pigs (60-70 kg bw) with a
re-entrant fistula at the end of the small intestine. With this fistula it was possible to collect
the chyme that arrived at the end of the small intestine. This chyme was analysed for its
content of sugars. The pigs received 20% sucrose or isomaltulose as part of their diet. It
was demonstrated that there was hardly any passage of isomaltulose at the terminal end of
the ileum. Recovery of ingested isomaltulose was less than 3%. Both sugars were almost
completely digested and absorbed in the small intestine. The amounts of end products
(short chain fatty acids) of bacterial fermentation were similar for both sucrose and
isomaltulose, indicating that fermentation in the large intestine was not a significant factor.
Moreover, the flow of wet ileal chyme was identical in the sucrose and isomaltulose group,
demonstrating the absence of non-absorbed and thus osmotically active nutrients (van
Weerden et al 1983).
An ileostomy study performed at the University of Würzburg, Germany, examined digestion
and absorption of isomaltulose in humans in vivo (Gostner et al 2006). The 10 ileostomy
patients consumed 50g isomaltulose in form of a drink (500ml) or a combination of a drink