Technological and Functional Applications of Low‐Calorie Sweeteners from Lactic Acid Bacteria

Abstract

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have been extensively used for centuries as starter cultures to carry out food fermentations and are looked upon as burgeoning "cell factories" for production of host of functional biomolecules and food ingredients. Low-calorie sugars have been a recent addition and have attracted a great deal of interest of researchers, manufacturers, and consumers for varied reasons. These sweeteners also getting popularized as low-carb sugars have been granted generally recommended as safe (GRAS) status by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration (USFDA) and include both sugars and sugar alcohols (polyols) which in addition to their technological attributes (sugar replacer, bulking agent, texturiser, humectant, cryoprotectant) have been observed to exert a number of health benefits (low calories, low glycemic index, anticariogenic, osmotic diuretics, obesity control, prebiotic). Some of these sweeteners successfully produced by lactic acid bacteria include mannitol, sorbitol, tagatose, and trehalose and there is a potential to further enhance their production with the help of metabolic engineering. These safe sweeteners can be exploited as vital food ingredients for development of low-calorie foods with added functional values especially for children, diabetic patients, and weight watchers.

Lactic Acid Bacteria as Source of Functional Ingredients

“…Recently, low calorie sugars produced from LAB have attracted the interest of researchers, industries and consumers, since they can find application as vital food ingredients mainly in foods marketed as "diabetic foods", like sugar-free candies, cookies and chewing gums [165,166]. Manitol, sorbitol, xylitol, tagatose and thehalose are sweeteners produced by LAB.…”

“…These GRAS substances could be used especially by children, diabetic patients and weight watchers [165,166].…”

“…sugar alcohols and can be produced in food fermentation processes. They can be incorporated directly to foods or be produced in the food by LAB, leading to the production of foods containing such sweeteners [165]. Leuconostoc and Lactobacillus spp.…”

Are sugar-free confections really beneficial for dental health?

“…5 Polyols are hydrogenated forms of carbohydrates whose carbonyl group has been reduced to primary or secondary hydroxyl group with structural similarities to sugars and/or alcohols. Polyols are typically used in conjunction with other artificial sweeteners because they tend to have lower sweetness than natural sugars.…”

“…5 Sugar alcohols produce less acid from fermentation of carbohydrate by oral microbiota. 6 Any acidity surrounding the tooth, especially a pH below the critical value of approximately pH 5.5 of dental enamel, may induce chemical dissolution or erosion.…”