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Sugar alcohol AI simulator
(@Sugar alcohol_simulator)
Hub AI
Sugar alcohol AI simulator
(@Sugar alcohol_simulator)
Sugar alcohol
Sugar alcohols (also called polyhydric alcohols, polyalcohols, alditols or glycitols) are organic compounds, typically derived from sugars, containing one hydroxyl group (−OH) attached to each carbon atom. They are white, water-soluble solids that can occur naturally or be produced industrially by hydrogenating sugars. Since they contain multiple (−OH) groups, they are classified as polyols.
Sugar alcohols are used widely in the food industry as thickeners and sweeteners. In commercial foodstuffs, sugar alcohols are commonly used in place of table sugar (sucrose), often in combination with high-intensity artificial sweeteners, in order to offset their low sweetness. Xylitol and sorbitol are popular sugar alcohols in commercial foods.
Sugar alcohols are synthesised by most microorganisms and plants, with roles in maintaining cellular water balance and responding to stresses, such as water deficiency or low temperature.
Simple sugar alcohols have the general formula HOCH2(CHOH)nCH2OH. In contrast, sugars have two fewer hydrogen atoms, for example, HOCH2(CHOH)nCHO or HOCH2(CHOH)n−1C(O)CH2OH. Like their parent sugars, sugar alcohols exist in diverse chain length. Most have five- or six-carbon chains, because they are derived respectively from pentoses (five-carbon sugars) and hexoses (six-carbon sugars), which are the more common sugars. They have one −OH group attached to each carbon. They are further differentiated by the relative orientation (stereochemistry) of these −OH groups. Unlike sugars, which tend to exist as rings, sugar alcohols do not, although they can be dehydrated to give cyclic ethers (e.g. sorbitan can be dehydrated to isosorbide).
Some disaccharides can be hydrogenated to give useful disaccharide alcohols with retention of the acetal linkage. Commercial products include lactitol, isomalt, and maltitol.
Sugar alcohols can be, and often are, produced from renewable resources. Particular feedstocks are starch, cellulose and hemicellulose; the main conversion technologies use H2 as the reagent: hydrogenolysis, i.e. the cleavage of C−O single bonds, converting polymers to smaller molecules, and hydrogenation of C=O double bonds, converting sugars to sugar alcohols.
Mannitol is no longer obtained from natural sources; currently, sorbitol and mannitol are obtained by hydrogenation of sugars, using Raney nickel catalysts. The conversion of glucose and mannose to sorbitol and mannitol is given as
Erythritol is obtained by the fermentation of glucose and sucrose.
Sugar alcohol
Sugar alcohols (also called polyhydric alcohols, polyalcohols, alditols or glycitols) are organic compounds, typically derived from sugars, containing one hydroxyl group (−OH) attached to each carbon atom. They are white, water-soluble solids that can occur naturally or be produced industrially by hydrogenating sugars. Since they contain multiple (−OH) groups, they are classified as polyols.
Sugar alcohols are used widely in the food industry as thickeners and sweeteners. In commercial foodstuffs, sugar alcohols are commonly used in place of table sugar (sucrose), often in combination with high-intensity artificial sweeteners, in order to offset their low sweetness. Xylitol and sorbitol are popular sugar alcohols in commercial foods.
Sugar alcohols are synthesised by most microorganisms and plants, with roles in maintaining cellular water balance and responding to stresses, such as water deficiency or low temperature.
Simple sugar alcohols have the general formula HOCH2(CHOH)nCH2OH. In contrast, sugars have two fewer hydrogen atoms, for example, HOCH2(CHOH)nCHO or HOCH2(CHOH)n−1C(O)CH2OH. Like their parent sugars, sugar alcohols exist in diverse chain length. Most have five- or six-carbon chains, because they are derived respectively from pentoses (five-carbon sugars) and hexoses (six-carbon sugars), which are the more common sugars. They have one −OH group attached to each carbon. They are further differentiated by the relative orientation (stereochemistry) of these −OH groups. Unlike sugars, which tend to exist as rings, sugar alcohols do not, although they can be dehydrated to give cyclic ethers (e.g. sorbitan can be dehydrated to isosorbide).
Some disaccharides can be hydrogenated to give useful disaccharide alcohols with retention of the acetal linkage. Commercial products include lactitol, isomalt, and maltitol.
Sugar alcohols can be, and often are, produced from renewable resources. Particular feedstocks are starch, cellulose and hemicellulose; the main conversion technologies use H2 as the reagent: hydrogenolysis, i.e. the cleavage of C−O single bonds, converting polymers to smaller molecules, and hydrogenation of C=O double bonds, converting sugars to sugar alcohols.
Mannitol is no longer obtained from natural sources; currently, sorbitol and mannitol are obtained by hydrogenation of sugars, using Raney nickel catalysts. The conversion of glucose and mannose to sorbitol and mannitol is given as
Erythritol is obtained by the fermentation of glucose and sucrose.
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