Department of Biochemistry, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, (Westville Campus), Durban 4000, South Africa.
Department of Pharmacology, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa.
J Food Drug Anal. 2021 Mar 15;29(1):1-14. doi: 10.38212/2224-6614.3107.
The major goals in the management of diabetes are to maintain optimum control of high blood glucose level or hyperglycemia. Dietary modification is one of the most recommended treatment modalities for diabetic patients. The use of foods sweetened with sugar alcohols (also known as polyols) such as xylitol, sorbitol, mannitol, maltitol, lactitol, isomalt and erythritol has brought an escalating interest in the recent years since some sugar alcohols do not rise plasma glucose, as they are partially digested and metabolised. Diet composition and adequacy may be altered by replacing carbohydrates with sugar alcohols. It has been established that these polyols are appropriate sugar substitutes for a healthy lifestyle and diabetic foods. The present review focuses on the evidence supporting the use of sugar alcohols in the management of diabetes, by evaluating their physical and chemical properties, metabolism, absorption, glycemic and insulinemic responses. Although documentation on the glycaemic and insulinemic response of polyols is evident that these compounds have beneficial effects on the better management of hyperglycemia, the possible side effects associated with their normal or higher dosages warned their use according to the relevant Food & Drug Administration guidelines. For the same reason, future studies should also focus on the possible toxicity and side effects associated with the consumption of sugar alcohols in order to define their safety.
糖尿病管理的主要目标是保持最佳的高血糖（或高血糖症）控制。饮食调整是糖尿病患者最推荐的治疗方法之一。近年来，由于一些糖醇不会使血糖升高，因为它们部分被消化和代谢，因此使用糖醇（也称为多元醇）甜味剂（如木糖醇、山梨糖醇、甘露醇、麦芽糖醇、乳糖醇、异麦芽酮糖醇和赤藓糖醇）引起了越来越多的关注。通过用糖醇代替碳水化合物，饮食成分和充足性可能会发生变化。已经确定这些多元醇是健康生活方式和糖尿病食品的合适糖替代品。本综述重点评估糖醇的物理和化学性质、代谢、吸收、血糖和胰岛素反应，以评估其在糖尿病管理中的应用证据。尽管有大量关于多元醇的血糖和胰岛素反应的文献，但这些化合物对更好地控制高血糖有有益的影响，但由于其正常或更高剂量可能会产生副作用，因此应根据相关的食品和药物管理局指南使用。出于同样的原因，未来的研究还应关注与糖醇消费相关的潜在毒性和副作用，以确定其安全性。
