The Effects of Increasing Doses of L-arabinose in a Sucrose Rich Meal on Intestinal Sucrase Activity in Man

Background:

The intake of common table sugar (sucrose) in the industrialised countries is relatively high. In Denmark the daily intake of sugar is in the range of 30-40 g/d exclusive the intake of sugar containing drinks. The health consequences of this relatively high sugar intake are heavily debated in the media. One of the arguments is that a high sugar intake may be one of the factors involved in the development of the metabolic syndrome, including overweight, increased blood glucose and insulin levels as well as impaired insulin action.

L-arabinose is widely distributed in plants and is a common component in plant cell walls in maize, wheat, rye, rice, plant gums etc. The isolated 5-carbon sugar has been shown to suppress the increase of blood glucose and plasma insulin after ingestion of sucrose in rats by inhibition of sucrase activity. In vitro studies on Caco-2 cells indicate that L-arabinose is a potent inhibitor on sucrase activity, possibly in a non-competitive way.

Potential nutritional advantages of consuming L-arabinose in combination with sucrose may therefore be a delayed digestion of sucrose and a lower absorption of glucose, resulting in both lower blood glucose and insulin levels. A delayed digestion of sucrose will reduce the energy utilisation with the potential of reducing weight gain in human subjects.

Methods: