Effects of isomalt consumption on gastrointestinal and metabolic parameters in healthy volunteers

The polyol isomalt (Palatinit®) is a well established sugar replacer. The impact of regular isomalt consumption on metabolism and parameters of gut function in nineteen healthy volunteers was examined in a randomised, double-blind, cross-over trial with two 4-week test periods. Volunteers received 30 g isomalt or 30 g sucrose daily as part of a controlled diet. In addition to clinical standard diagnostics, biomarkers and parameters currently discussed as risk factors for CHD, diabetes or obesity were analysed. Urine and stool Ca and phosphate excretions were measured. In addition, mean transit time, defecation frequency, stool consistency and weight were determined. Consumption of test products was affirmed by the urinary excretion of mannitol. Blood lipids were comparable in both phases, especially in volunteers with hyperlipidaemia, apart from lower apo A-1 (P=0·03) for all subjects. Remnant-like particles, oxidised LDL, NEFA, fructosamine and leptin were comparable and not influenced by isomalt. Ca and phosphate homeostasis was not affected. Stool frequency was moderately increased in the isomalt phase (P=0·006) without changes in stool consistency and stool water. This suggests that isomalt is well tolerated and that consumption of isomalt does not impair metabolic function or induce hypercalciuria. In addition, the study data indicate that isomalt could be useful in improving bowel function.

Effect of isomalt consumption on faecal microflora and colonic metabolism in healthy volunteers

Due to its low digestibility in the small intestine, a major fraction of the polyol isomalt reaches the colon. However, little is known about effects on the intestinal microflora. During two 4-week periods in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over design, nineteen healthy volunteers consumed a controlled basal diet enriched with either 30 g isomalt or 30 g sucrose daily. Stools were collected at the end of each test phase and various microbiological and luminal markers were analysed. Fermentation characteristics of isomalt were also investigated in vitro. Microbiological analyses of faecal samples indicated a shift of the gut flora towards an increase of bifidobacteria following consumption of the isomalt diet compared with the sucrose diet (P<0.05). During the isomalt phase, the activity of bacterial beta-glucosidase decreased (P<0.05) whereas beta-glucuronidase, sulfatase, nitroreductase and urease remained unchanged. Faecal polyamines were not different between test periods with the exception of cadaverine, which showed a trend towards a lower concentration following isomalt (P=0.055). Faecal SCFA, lactate, bile acids, neutral sterols, N, NH3, phenol and p-cresol were not affected by isomalt consumption. In vitro, isomalt was metabolized in several bifidobacteria strains and yielded high butyrate concentrations. Isomalt, which is used widely as a low-glycaemic and low-energy sweetener, has to be considered a prebiotic carbohydrate that might contribute to a healthy luminal environment of the colonic mucosa.

Isomaltulose (Palatinose): a review of biological and toxicological studies

Isomaltulose is a natural occurring disaccharide composed of alpha-1,6-linked glucose and fructose. Commercial isomaltulose is produced from sucrose by enzymatic rearrangement and has been used as a sugar in Japan since 1985. It is particularly suitable as a non-cariogenic sucrose replacement and is favorable in products for diabetics and prediabetic dispositions. In vivo studies with rats and pigs indicate that isomaltulose is completely hydrolyzed and absorbed in the small intestine. This is supported by in vitro studies showing that intestinal disaccharidases from various species (including man) can hydrolyze isomaltulose. The rate of hydrolysis, however, is very slow compared with sucrose and maltose. Thus, blood glucose and insulin levels in humans after oral administration rise slower and reach lower maxima than after sucrose administration. After absorption, fructose and glucose are metabolized as typical for these monosaccharides. From intravenous studies it can be assumed that any systemic isomaltulose would be hydrolyzed as well, or excreted in urine. In several subchronic toxicity studies, the administration of large doses (up to 7.0 and 8.1 g/kg body weight/day in male and female rats, respectively) of isomaltulose, did not result in adverse effects. Isomaltulose induced neither embryotoxic or teratogenic effects in rat foetuses, nor maternal toxicity at levels up to 7 g/kg body weight/day. Isomaltulose was non-mutagenic in the Ames test. As hydrolysis in the small intestine is complete, even high levels of isomaltulose are well tolerated in animals and humans. In studies with healthy as well as diabetic subjects high doses up to 50 g were tolerated without signs of intestinal discomfort. On the basis of the data reviewed it is concluded that the use of isomaltulose as an alternative sugar is as safe as the use of other digestible sugars consisting of glucose and fructose.

13-Week oral toxicity study with isomaltulose (Palatinose) in rats

The potential subchronic oral toxicity of isomaltulose (Palatinose) was examined by administering this substance in the diet to groups of 20 male and 20 female Wistar rats at levels of 0, 2.5, 5 and 10% for 13 consecutive weeks. Daily clinical observations, body weight, food conversion efficiency, food and water consumption were not affected at any stage of the study. Ophthalmoscopy, haematology, clinical chemistry, urinalysis, organ weights, gross and histopathological examination, neurobehavioural observations, motor activity assessment and the results of an immunotoxicity screen did not reveal any abnormalities related to the ingestion of the test substance. In conclusion, the administration of isomaltulose at dietary levels up to 10% for 13 consecutive weeks was well tolerated without any signs of toxicity. The overall intake at this level corresponded to 7.0 and 8.1 g/kg body weight/day in male and female rats, respectively.

Safety considerations of DNA in food

Recombinant DNA techniques are capable of introducing genetic changes into food organisms that are more predictable than those introduced through conventional breeding techniques. This review discusses whether the consumption of DNA in approved novel foods and novel food ingredients derived from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) can be regarded as being as safe as the consumption of DNA in existing foods. It concludes that DNA from GMOs is equivalent to DNA from existing food organisms that has always been consumed with human diets. Any risks associated with the consumption of DNA will remain, irrespective of its origin, because the body handles all DNA in the same way. The breakdown of DNA during food processing and passage through the gastrointestinal tract reduces the likelihood that intact genes capable of encoding foreign proteins will be transferred to gut microflora. The review does not specifically address food safety issues arising from the consumption of viable genetically modified microorganisms but it shows that the likelihood of transfer and functional integration of DNA from ingested food by gut microflora and/or human cells is minimal. Information reviewed does not indicate any safety concerns associated with the ingestion of DNA per se from GMOs resulting from the use of currently available recombinant DNA techniques in the food chain.

An analysis of the possibility for health implications of joint actions and interactions between food additives

The possibility that structurally unrelated food additives could show either joint actions or interactions has been assessed based on their potential to share common sites and mechanisms of action or common pathways of elimination. All food additives approved in the European Union and allocated numerical acceptable daily intake values were studied, initially based on the reports by the FAO-WHO Joint Expert Committee for Food Additives. Target organs were identified based on the effects reported at doses above the no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) in animal and human studies. The descriptions of the pathological and other changes reported were used to assess whether different additives, sharing the same target organ, would produce a common toxic effect. In all but a very few cases, the possibility of joint actions or interactions could be excluded on scientific grounds. The exceptions were on the liver (curcumin, thiabendazole, propyl gallate, and BHT), the kidney (diphenyl, o-phenylphenol, and ferrocyanide salts), the blood (azorubine and propyl gallate), and the thyroid (erythosine, thiabendazole, and nitrate). Toxicokinetic interactions were considered unlikely because of the low dosages involved, the diverse nature of the routes of metabolism and elimination, and the fact that enzyme induction or inhibition would have influenced selection of the NOAEL. Many of those additives which could not be excluded from showing joint actions or interactions would have low intakes; in some cases they were alternatives for the same application, thereby further lowering the combined intake. In consequence, joint actions or interactions between additives do not represent a significant health concern.

The application of in vitro data in the derivation of the acceptable daily intake of food additives

The acceptable daily intake (ADI) for food additives is commonly derived from the NOAEL (no-observed-adverse-effect level) in long-term animal in vivo studies. To derive an ADI a safety or uncertainty factor (commonly 100) is applied to the NOAEL in the most sensitive test species. The 100-fold safety factor is considered to be the product of both species and inter-individual differences in toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics. Although in vitro data have previously been considered during the risk assessment of food additives, they have generally had no direct influence on the calculation of ADI values. In this review 18 food additives are evaluated for the availability of in vitro toxicity data which might be used for the derivation of a specific data-derived uncertainty factor. For the majority of the food additives reviewed, additional in vitro tests have been conducted which supplement and support the short- and long-term in vivo toxicity studies. However, it was recognized that these in vitro studies could not be used in isolation to derive an ADI; only when sufficient in vivo mechanistic data are available can such information be used in a regulatory context. Additional short-term studies are proposed for the food additives which, if conducted, would provide data that could then be used for the calculation of data-derived uncertainty factors.

Purification and characterization of thermostable pectate-lyases from a newly isolated thermophilic bacterium, Thermoanaerobacter italicus sp. nov

A novel thermophilic spore-forming anaerobic microorganism (strain Ab9) able to grow on citrus pectin and polygalacturonic acid (pectate) was isolated from a thermal spa in Italy. The newly isolated strain grows optimally at 70 degrees C with a growth rate of 0.23 h(-1) with pectin and 0.12 h(-1) with pectate as substrates. Xylan, starch, and glycogen are also utilized as carbon sources and thermoactive xylanolytic (highest activity at 70 degrees - 75 degrees C), amylolytic as well as pullulolytic enzymes (highest activity at 80 degrees - 85 degrees C) are formed. Two thermoactive pectate lyases were isolated from the supernatant of a 300-l culture of isolate Ab9 after growth on citrus pectin. The two enzymes (lyases a and b) were purified to homogeneity by ammonium sulfate treatment, anion exchange chromatography, hydrophobic chromatography and finally by preparative gel electrophoresis. After sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) gel electrophoresis, lyase a appeared as a single polypeptide with a molecular mass of 135000 Da whereas lyase b consisted of two subunits with molecular masses of 93000 Da and 158000 Da. Both enzymes displayed similar catalytic properties with optimal activity at pH 9.0 and 80 degrees C. The enzymes were very stable at 70 degrees C and at 80 degrees C with a half-life of more than 60 min. The maximal activity of the purified lyases was observed with orange pectate (100%) and pectate-sodium salt (90%), whereas pectin was attacked to a much lesser extent (50%). The Km values of both lyases for pectate and citrus pectin were 0.5 g(-1) and 5.0 g(-1), respectively. After incubation with polygalacturonic acid, mono-, di-, and trigalacturonate were detected as final products. A 2.5-fold increase of activity was obtained when pectate lyases were incubated in the presence of 1 mM Ca2+. The addition of 1 mM ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) resulted in complete inhibition of the enzymes. These heat-stable enzymes represent the first pectate-lyases isolated and characterized from a thermophilic anaerobic bacterium. On the basis of the results of the 16S rRNA sequence comparisons and the observed phenotypic differences, we propose strain Ab9 as a new species of Thermoanaerobacter, namely Thermoanaerobacter italicus sp. nov.