What is sorbitol?
Sorbitol or glucitol is a glucose alditol, or a sugar reduced to polyol (a glucose molecule with added electrons).
In nature, sorbitol is present in fruit and in particular in rowan, from which it takes its name; in the food sector, it is frequently used as a polyvalent additive and is characterized by:
- Sweetening power 40% lower than sucrose
- Caloric power 36% lower than sucrose
- Excellent thickening power and good preservative
In addition to having a considerable conservation potential, sorbitol is useful in the "dietetic" sweetening of confectionery products (candies, chewing gum, etc.) and pharmaceuticals, as it is only a PARTIALLY digestible and absorbable molecule.
NB. Sorbitol is an osmotic molecule that promotes intestinal fermentation, therefore, abuse in consumption can easily cause side intestinal reactions such as meteorism, abdominal tension and diarrhea.
Definition
Intolerances are adverse reactions to foods or nutrients that characterize them; in general they are NOT immuno-mediated and to trigger the specific symptomatology they need a relevant contribution of active principle (a characteristic that leaves room for subjectivity).
NB. The time interval necessary for the onset of the first symptoms from the moment of ingestion to the appearance of the TIPICALLY GASTRO-INTESTINAL symptomatology varies from several minutes to several hours.
Sorbitol intolerance is a disorder that mainly affects the consumption range of packaged and pharmaceutical products; in fact, as previously specified, sorbitol is a sweetener - a widely used preservative; therefore the possibility that this polyol generates adverse reactions more or less significantly compromises the sale of products containing it (depending on the spread of the disorder).
To define with certainty the presence of a specific intolerance to sorbitol it is possible to perform a clinical test: the H2 breath-test, or test of the detection of hydrogen in the breath. The principle of this detection is simple: following the administration of an aqueous solution of sorbitol the concentrations of H2 in breath are detected in different time steps. If the quantity of hydrogen taken is late, it can be deduced that the ingested molecule has NOT undergone digestion and intestinal absorption (small intestine) and has remained available for the fermentation of the bacterial flora (large intestine) which, during its metabolic processes, determines the release of H2 . This hydrogen is then absorbed and dissolved in the blood that carries it and diffuses it into the lungs to eliminate it.
NB. The PRECOCE positivity to the H2 breath-test (ie in the first temporal steps) is a clear indicator of contamination of the small intestine by the colic bacterial flora; moreover, both the sorbitol intolerance test and those for fructose and lactose intolerance are indicative to verify the presence of global malabsorption, with or without specific intolerance towards the administered molecule.
