Comment Some Effects of Xylitol on Carbohydrate Metabolism

Abstract

Hollmann and Touster [1] discovered that the polyalcohol xylitol was a regular intermediary product of carbohydrate metabolism (Glucuronate-Xylulose Cycle). There have been many reports since then on the effects of xylitol on carbohydrate metabolism in animals and human beings. Lang and his co-workers [2, 3] could demonstrate the almost complete utilization of xylitol given orally or intravenously to normal or alloxan diabetic rats and normal persons or diabetic patients, but the physiological significance of the Glucuronate-Xylulose Cycle still remains obscure.