The FDA first approved it for use in the United States in 1963. The Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) then followed this decision in 1983.
Xylitol is categorized as a sugar alcohol which combine traits of sugar molecules and alcohol molecules. Their structure allows them to stimulate the taste receptors for sweetness on your tongue.
Xylitol’s intense and distinctive cooling effect in combination with its equal sweetness to sugar make it perfect ingredient for use in chewing gum especially sugar free chewing gums.
Some types of gum or oral care products, such as toothpaste and mouthwash, also contain xylitol. Mouth bacteria can't use xylitol as a source of energy, so it may help prevent tooth decay and the buildup of plaque.
Xylitol is a white crystalline substance that for all purpose looks and tastes like white sugar. It has a low GI value of 12, meaning it has little effect on blood sugar levels and insulin. It is therefore seen as a useful alternative for diabetics.
Because xylitol is slowly absorbed into blood stream and is only partially metabolized, it has a much lower caloric value about 40 percent lower than white sugar.
While it can be sourced from carbohydrate molecules (called polysaccharides) in the cell walls of birch and beech trees, rice, oat, wheat and cotton husks, the main source of xylitol for commercial use is corn cobs. It is produced by the hydrolysis of xylan (which is present to many plants), to xylose. Which is then hydrogenated to produce xylitol.
Xylitol is then purified and crystallized. Xylitol imparts a sweet taste, which also appears to have a cooling effect. As it is metabolized by many organisms, it is quite stable.
Xylitol - sugar-free sweetener
