Erythritol is 60–70% as sweet as
sucrose (table sugar). However, erythritol is almost completely
noncaloric,[4] and does not affect blood sugar[5] or cause tooth decay.[6] Japanese companies pioneered the commercial development of erythritol as a sweetener in the 1990s.
Etymology
The name "erythritol" derives from the Greek word for the color red (erythros or ἐρυθρός). This is the case even though erythritol is almost always found in the form of white crystals or powder and it does not turn red as a result of chemical reactions. The name "erythritol" comes from
erythrin, a closely related compound, which turns red upon oxidation.[7]
History
Erythritol was discovered in 1848 by Scottish chemist
John Stenhouse[8] and first isolated in 1852. In 1950 it was found in
blackstrap molasses that was fermented by yeast, and it became commercialized as a sugar alcohol in the 1990s in Japan.[9]
Occurrence
Erythritol occurs naturally in some fruit and fermented foods.[10] It also occurs in human body fluids, such as eye lens tissue,
serum, plasma, fetal fluid, and urine.[11]
Uses
Since 1990, erythritol has had a history of safe use as a sweetener and flavor-enhancer in food and beverage products, and is approved for use by government regulatory agencies of more than 60 countries.[12] Beverage categories for its use are coffee and tea, liquid
dietary supplements, juice blends,
soft drinks, and flavored water product variations, with foods including
confections, biscuits and cookies, tabletop sweeteners, and sugar-free chewing gum.[12] The mild sweetness of erythritol allows for a volume-for-volume replacement of sugar, whereas sweeter sugar substitutes need fillers that result in a noticeably different texture in baked products.[13]
Absorption and excretion
Erythritol is
absorbed rapidly into the blood, with peak amounts occurring in under two hours; the majority of an oral dose (80 to 90%) is excreted unchanged in the
urine within 24 hours.[12]
Safety
In 2023,
European Food Safety Authority reassessed the safety of erythritol and lowered the recommended daily intake limit to 0.5 grams per kg body weight,[14] which equates to 35 g for an average adult (70 kg). This lower limit was set to "safeguard against its laxative effect and to mitigate against long-term effects, such as electrolyte imbalance arising from prolonged exposure to erythritol-induced diarrhea."[14]
Previously, in 2015, scientists assessed doses for erythritol where symptoms of mild
gastrointestinal upset occurred, such as nausea, excess
flatus, abdominal bloating or pain, and
stool frequency. At a content of 1.6% in beverages it was not considered to have a
laxative effect.[12] The upper limit of tolerance was 0.78 and 0.71 grams per kg body weight in adults and children, respectively.[12]
Dietary and metabolic aspects
Caloric value and labeling
Nutritional labeling of erythritol in food products varies from country to country. Some countries, such as
Japan and the
European Union (EU), label it as zero-calorie.[15]
Under U.S.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) labeling requirements, it has a caloric value of 0.2
calories per gram (95% less than sugar and other carbohydrates). The FDA has not made its own determination regarding the
generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status of erythritol, but has accepted the conclusion that erythritol is GRAS as submitted to it by several food manufacturers.[16]
Human digestion
In the body, most erythritol is absorbed into the bloodstream in the
small intestine, and then for the most part excreted unchanged in the
urine. About 10% enters the colon.[17]
In small doses, erythritol does not normally cause
laxative effects and gas or bloating, as are often experienced after consumption of other sugar alcohols (such as
maltitol,
sorbitol,
xylitol, and
lactitol).[18] About 90% is absorbed before it enters the
large intestine, and since erythritol is not digested by intestinal bacteria, the remaining 10% is excreted in the
feces.[17]
Large doses can cause
nausea,
stomach rumbling and watery feces.[19] In males, doses greater than 0.66 g/kg body weight, and in females, doses greater than 0.8 g/kg body weight, will cause
laxation,[20] and diarrhea in higher doses (over 50 grams (1.8 oz)).[19] Rarely, erythritol can cause allergic hives (
urticaria).[21]
Erythritol is manufactured using enzymatic
hydrolysis of the starch from corn to generate
glucose.[25] Glucose is then fermented with yeast or another fungus to produce erythritol. A genetically engineered mutant form of Yarrowia lipolytica, a yeast, has been optimized for erythritol production by fermentation, using
glycerol as a carbon source and high
osmotic pressure to increase yields up to 62%.[11]
Chemical properties
Heat of solution
Erythritol has a strong cooling effect (
endothermic, or positive
heat of solution)[26] when it dissolves in water, which is often compared with the cooling effect of
mint flavors. The cooling effect is present only when erythritol is not already dissolved in water, a situation that might be experienced in an erythritol-sweetened frosting, chocolate bar, chewing gum, or hard candy. The cooling effect of erythritol is very similar to that of
xylitol and among the strongest cooling effects of all sugar alcohols.[27] Erythritol has a
pKa of 13.903 at 18 °C.[28]
Biological properties
According to a 2014 study,[29] erythritol functions as an insecticide toxic to the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, impairing motor ability and reducing longevity even when nutritive sugars were available.
Erythritol is preferentially used by the
Brucella spp. The presence of erythritol in the placentas of goats, cattle, and pigs has been proposed as an explanation for the accumulation of Brucella bacteria found at these sites.[30]
Synonyms
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, several synonyms were in use for erythritol: erythrol, erythrite, erythoglucin, eryglucin, erythromannite and phycite.[31] Zerose is a
tradename for erythritol.[32]
^Vasudevan DM (2013). Textbook of biochemistry for medical students. New Delhi: Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd. p. 81.
ISBN978-93-5090-530-2.
^Moon HJ, Jeya M, Kim IW, Lee JK (April 2010). "Biotechnological production of erythritol and its applications". Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. 86 (4): 1017–1025.
doi:
10.1007/s00253-010-2496-4.
PMID20186409.
S2CID9560435.
^
abKawanabe J, Hirasawa M, Takeuchi T, Oda T, Ikeda T (1992). "Noncariogenicity of erythritol as a substrate". Caries Research. 26 (5): 358–362.
doi:
10.1159/000261468.
PMID1468100.
^
abcdeScientific Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources Added to Food, European Food Safety Authority (2015).
"Scientific Opinion on the safety of the proposed extension of use of erythritol (E 968) as a food additive". EFSA Journal. 13 (3): 4033.
doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2015.4033.
ISSN1831-4732., Quote: "In 2003, the European Union (EU) Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) concluded that erythritol is safe for use in foods. [...] the SCF opinion stated that the
laxative threshold may be exceeded, especially by young consumers, [...] the ANS Panel concluded that the acute bolus consumption of erythritol via non-alcoholic beverages at a maximum level of 1.6 % would not raise concerns for laxation."
^(2008)
European Commission Directive 2008/100/EC. Quote: "Erythritol is a polyol, and according to the current rules as provided for in Article 5(1) of Directive 90/496/EEC, its energy would be calculated using the conversion factor for polyols, namely 10 kJ/g (2,4 kcal/g). Using this energy conversion factor would not fully inform the consumer about the reduced energy value of a product achieved by the use of erythritol in its manufacture. The Scientific Committee on Food in its opinion on erythritol, expressed on March 5, 2003, noted that the energy provided by erythritol was less than 0,9 kJ/g (less than 0,2 kcal/g). Therefore it is appropriate to adopt a suitable energy conversion factor for erythritol. Current regulations (Reg. (EC) 1169/2011) preserve this conversion factor at 0 kcal/g for energy value calculation purposes."