New trends on sweeteners in Japan.

Among the sweeteners available, the significance of disaccharides, especially, palatinose is emphasized from the point of view of the essential requirements sugar substitutes have to meet. Palatinose, an enzymatic derivative of sucrose, does not support the growth of cariogenic streptococci. Acid production by oral micro-organisms is quite weak, if at all. Polyglucan is not synthetized by S. mutans from palatinose. Furthermore, palatinose inhibits polyglucan synthesis from sucrose when added to it. Experiments in animals and man also indicate that palatinose is of low or no cariogenicity. Side effects of palatinose have not been recognized. In conclusion, palatinose is currently considered to be a promising sugar substitute.