The flavor of sugar alcohols is similar to that of sucrose. They taste sweet; however, they seldom are equivalent to the relative sweetness of sucrose. They do not promote dental caries and exert a laxative effect when consumed in quantities in excess of 20 to 30 g per day. Sugar alcohols are utilized as replacements for sugar because they do not raise the concentration of sugar in the blood and also do not require insulin to degrade them. Sugar alcohols include e.g., sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol, maltulose, isomaltulose, maltite, isomaltite, lactulose and lactite.
Determination of sorbitol by ion chromatography and pulsed amperometric detection
This method is suitable for fruit juices and other non-alcoholic beverages.
The sugar alcohols are separated using a strongly alkaline eluent and ion exchange column and detected and quantified electrochemically using a pulsed amperometric detector (PAD).
By applying a potential, the ions are oxidized at a gold electrode and induce a measurable charge. To prevent the electrode from being occupied in a very short time, the potential is then reversed to reduce and release the ions from the electrode.