Lactitol is a disaccharide sugar alcohol produced from lactose. It is used as a replacement bulk sweetener for low calorie foods with 30–40% of the sweetness of sucrose. It is also used medically as a laxative.
Production
Lactitol is produced by hydrogenation of lactose using Raney nickel catalyst. The product can be obtained as an anhydrous, monohydrate, or dihydrate. Two manufacturers, Danisco and Purac Biochem, produce about 10,000 tons/y.
Applications
Lactitol is used in a variety of low food energy or low fat foods. High stability makes it popular for baking. It is used in sugar-free candies, cookies (biscuits), chocolate, and ice cream, with a sweetness of 30–40% that of sucrose. Lactitol also promotes colon health as a prebiotic. Because of poor absorption, lactitol only has 2–2.5 kilocalories (8.4–10.5 kilojoules) per gram,
Lactitol is a laxative and is used to prevent or treat constipation, e.g., under the trade name Importal.
In February 2020, Lactitol was approved for use in the United States as an osmotic laxative for the treatment of chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC) in adults.
Lactitol in combination with Ispaghula husk is an approved combination for idiopathic constipation as a laxative and is used to prevent or treat constipation.
Safety and health
Lactitol, erythritol, sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol, and maltitol are all classified sugar alcohols (lactitol and maltitol are in fact disaccharide alcohols, since they contain one intact sugar). where it then becomes fermentable to gut microbes (prebiotic) and can pull water into the gut by osmosis. For these reasons, medical advice is often sought before their use.
History
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Pizensy based on evidence from a clinical trial (Trial 1/ NCT02819297) of 594 subjects with CIC conducted in the United States.