Relationship between mineral metabolism and peroral consumption of sugar alcohols.

Animal experiments have shown that the sugar alcohols xylitol, D-sorbitol, D-mannitol and galactitol, taken in orally, interact with certain dietary multivalent metal cations (Ca2+, Fe3+, Cu2+), promoting the absorption of the minerals. These interactions may depend on the formation of complexes between the polyols and the metal cations in the gut. Complexed metal cations may thus remain soluble in the neutral pH values of the gut lumen, rendering a prolonged absorption process of those metals possible through active or passive transport mechanisms. This absorption-promoting effect of polyols can perhaps be applied in mineral therapy.