Sugar alcohol in the context of "Artificial sweeteners"

Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double sugars, are molecules made of two bonded monosaccharides; common examples are sucrose (glucose + fructose), lactose (glucose + galactose), and maltose (two molecules of glucose). White sugar is almost pure sucrose. During digestion, compound sugars are hydrolysed into simple sugars.

Longer chains of saccharides are not regarded as sugars, and are called oligosaccharides or polysaccharides. Starch is a glucose polymer found in plants – the most abundant source of energy in human food. Some other chemical substances, such as ethylene glycol, glycerol and sugar alcohols, may have a sweet taste, but are not classified as sugar.

In chemistry, an alcohol (from Arabic al-kuḥl 'the kohl') is a type of organic compound that carries at least one hydroxyl (−OH) functional group bound to a saturated carbon atom. Alcohols range from the simple, like methanol and ethanol, to complex, like sugar alcohols and cholesterol. The presence of an OH group strongly modifies the properties of hydrocarbons, conferring hydrophilic (water-attracted) properties. The OH group provides a site at which many reactions can occur.

Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones, and sugar alcohols. Some are sweet at very low concentrations, allowing their use as non-caloric sugar substitutes. Such non-sugar sweeteners include saccharin, aspartame, sucralose and stevia. Other compounds, such as miraculin, may alter perception of sweetness itself.

Sweetness is one of the five basic taste qualities and it mostly involves foods with sugars. It is known to be enjoyable and it is an important factor for food choices beyond cultures. Furthermore, sugars like sucrose, there are many other organic and inorganic compounds that bring out a sweet taste. This involves aldehydes, ketones, amino acids, and other artificial sweeteners. Sweetness recognition in our bodies takes part in an important role in energy control and evolutionary behavior.

Sorbitol (/ˈsɔː(r)bɪtɒl/), less commonly known as glucitol (/ˈɡluːsɪtɒl/), is a sugar alcohol with a sweet taste which the human body metabolizes slowly. It can be obtained by reduction of glucose, which changes the converted aldehyde group (−CHO) to a primary alcohol group (−CH₂OH). Most sorbitol is made from potato starch, but it is also found in nature, for example in apples, pears, peaches, and prunes. It is converted to fructose by sorbitol-6-phosphate 2-dehydrogenase. Sorbitol is an isomer of mannitol, another sugar alcohol; the two differ only in the orientation of the hydroxyl group on carbon 2. While similar, the two sugar alcohols have very different sources in nature, melting points, and uses.

As an over-the-counter drug, sorbitol is used as a laxative to treat constipation.

Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugar made in a sugary. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones, and sugar alcohols. Some are sweet at very low concentrations, allowing their use as non-caloric sugar substitutes. Such non-sugar sweeteners include saccharin, aspartame, sucralose and stevia. Other compounds, such as miraculin, may alter perception of sweetness itself.

Sweetness is one of the five basic taste qualities and it mostly involves foods with sugars. It is known to be enjoyable and it is an important factor for food choices beyond cultures. Furthermore, sugars like sucrose, there are many other organic and inorganic compounds that bring out a sweet taste. This involves aldehydes, ketones, amino acids, and other artificial sweeteners. Sweetness recognition in our bodies takes part in an important role in energy control and evolutionary behavior.