Metabolism of hydrogenated palatinose, an equimolar mixture of alpha-D-glucopyranosido-1,6-sorbitol and alpha-D-glucopyranosido-1,6-mannitol.

Hydrogenated palatinose, an equimolar mixture of alpha-D-glucopyranosido-1,6-sorbitol and alpha-D-glucopyranosido-1,6-mannitol, was investigated as a potential oral sugar substitute in the following experiments in man and rat. 1. Enzymatic cleavage occurred at slow rates by maltase (alpha-glucosidase) of jejunal mucosa, liver lysosomes and yeast. 2. Part of ingested hydrogenated palatinose arrived unsplit at the caecum of the rat and underwent fermentation there; excretion in feces and urine are neglegible in man and rat. 3. Growth and maintenance of rats demonstrated 20--40 percent diminished caloric utilisation of diets containing 34.5 percent hydrogenated palatinose whereas indirect calorimetry in man showed about 50 percent caloric deficit. 4. Blood sugar did not increase in man after oral doses up to 100 g. 5. The capacity of the rat kidneys for excretion of hydrogenated palatinose and its constituents was high, symptoms of incompatibility were not observed.