High Value Fermentation Products, Volume 1

Chapter 12Sugar and Sugar Alcohols: Xylitol

Bhumica Agarwal¹ and Lalit Kumar Singh^2*

¹Department of Biotechnology, Meerut Institute of Engineering and Technology, Meerut, (India)

²Department of Biochemical Engineering, School of Chemical Technology, Harcourt Butler Technical University Kanpur, (India)

*Corresponding author: [e-mail]

Abstract

Xylitol, a five carbon sugar alcohol, also known as wood or birch sugar, is obtained by reduction of xylose. It is a rare sugar that occurs naturally, albeit in small amounts, in fruits, vegetables, lichens, mushrooms, etc. Thus extracting xylitol from these sources is difficult and not economical. Xylitol is a sweetener with outstanding anticariogenic properties. It has attracted global interest due to its sweetening power similar to that of sucrose and besides this there is no insulin requirement for its digestion. Xylitol has recently become attractive as an alternative sweetener for the treatment of diabetics and glucose-6-phosphate dehyrogenase deficient diseases. The extraction of xylose from the lignocellulosic biomass and bioconversion of xylose to xylitol via fermentation is encapsulated in the present chapter.

Keywords: Xylose, fermentation, xylitol, biomass, sweetener

12.1 Introduction

Use of sugar in households seems to be irreplaceable, especially in Indian systems. Although a new generation is becoming familiar with associated health disadvantages, table sugar remains a main component of our diet. It has been ...