The role of trehalose

Speaking of trehalose, a natural sugar, I believe many people are familiar with it, because most of the foods we eat in our daily lives contain trehalose, such as mushrooms, bread, and even beer, prawns and other foods. It is said that trehalose has a magical effect on organisms and can protect species living in harsh environments from being harmed. So what are the functions and effects of trehalose?

In fact, trehalose has many functions and effects, and its application is also very wide. For example, some baked products, candies, etc. contain this kind of natural sugar. Below I will give you a detailed introduction to the functions and effects of trehalose.

Trehalose is a safe and reliable natural sugar. It was first extracted from ergot fungus in rye by Wiggers in 1832. Subsequent studies have found that trehalose is widely present in many edible animals, plants and microorganisms in nature. For example, mushrooms, seaweed, beans, shrimps, bread, beer and yeast-fermented foods consumed in daily life all contain high levels of trehalose.

Introduction

Description: Trehalose is a non-reducing sugar composed of two glucose molecules with a 1,1-glycosidic bond. It has three isomers, namely trehalose, isotrehalose and neotrehalose, and has a nonspecific protective effect on a variety of biologically active substances. Trehalose is known as the "sugar of life" in the scientific community.

Effects of Trehalose

Trehalose has a magical protective effect on organisms because it can form a unique protective film on the cell surface under harsh environmental conditions such as high temperature, extreme cold, high osmotic pressure, and dehydration, effectively protecting protein molecules from denaturation and inactivation, thereby maintaining the life process and biological characteristics of living organisms. Many species that show extraordinary resistance to harsh external environments are directly related to the large amount of trehalose in their bodies. This unique functional property makes trehalose not only an excellent active protectant for protein drugs, enzymes, vaccines and other biological products, but also an important ingredient for maintaining cell activity and moisturizing cosmetics. It can also be used as a unique food ingredient to prevent food deterioration, maintain the fresh flavor of food, and improve food quality, greatly expanding the function of trehalose as a natural edible sweetener.

Production process: Trehalose is produced using the most advanced bioengineering technology and production process, using a complete set of equipment built according to international pharmaceutical standards, and using local natural cassava starch that does not contain genetically modified ingredients as raw material.

application

Food Industry

Application of trehalose in food industry: Like other sugars, trehalose can be widely used in food industry, including beverages, chocolate and candy, baked products and quick-frozen foods.

Baked products: In baked products, trehalose has multiple potential uses: it can adjust the sweetness and aroma of frosting, bread cream and fruit fillings on cakes, biscuits and pastries without damaging the storage life, allowing people to taste the original flavor of the product. Confectionery: Trehalose can be mixed with most other sweeteners and used in candies, fruit juice drinks and herbal products to adjust the sweetness of the products, thereby truly maintaining the original flavor of the products. Chocolate candies: Using trehalose in chocolate candies can adjust the sweetness of the candies, which is especially beneficial for soft candies containing dairy products and products with fruit fillings. Trehalose can also reduce the free water in multi-ingredient products. Fruits: Trehalose is the best sweetness regulator in processed fruits (including jams, condiments and fillings). Adding trehalose to fruit products can maintain the original flavor of the product without affecting the storage period of the product. In addition, due to the stability of trehalose, hydrolysis will not occur, and the color of the product will not change and maintain its original luster. Quick-frozen products: Trehalose can replace sucrose to lower the freezing point of ice cream and other frozen products. It can be used to create new frostings and unique and delicious flavors in frozen foods and frozen confections. Beverages: Trehalose has a slightly sweet taste in beverages and can be used in combination with most other sweeteners to make the sweetness more complete and improve the overall flavor of the product. In alcoholic beverages, trehalose does not reduce the sensory properties of alcohol and makes the beverages taste better. Seafood: Trehalose is particularly effective as a low-temperature protectant for seafood. When trehalose absolutely inhibits the functionality of water at the protein-water interface, it increases the hardness, elasticity and gel strength of seafood. In addition, the slightly sweet nature of trehalose also improves the taste quality of seafood. Unlike other cryoprotectants used to treat seafood, trehalose does not cause a burning sensation in the throat and has no laxative problems.

Pharmaceutical Industry

Application of trehalose in the pharmaceutical industry:

(1) Trehalose has been successfully used in medicine to replace plasma protein as a stabilizer for biologically active substances such as blood products, vaccines, lymphocytes, and cell tissues. Not only can it be stored dryly at room temperature, but more importantly, it can prevent the spread of deadly diseases such as hepatitis B and AIDS caused by blood contamination. (2) The Quadrant Research Foundation in Cambridge, UK, freeze-dried a mixture of polio vaccine and trehalose and found that its stability at 45°C in a dry state was equivalent to that in a liquid state stored at 4°C. The successful research of this project will greatly simplify the vaccine processing process, reduce the storage and transportation costs of vaccines, and ensure that the vaccine can still maintain a relatively high activity during long-distance transportation. (3) John Crow and his colleagues at the University of California, USA, mixed trehalose with platelet-producing cells, dehydrated the cells to make them dry, and then freeze-dried them so that they could be stored for a long time at room temperature. Practice has shown that 85% of platelets added with trehalose and stored for a long time still survive after hydration, which is higher than the survival rate of platelets stored for a short period of time in most blood banks. (4) Trehalose can be used to preserve biological reagents for research, such as various enzyme tools, cell membranes, organelles, antibodies, antigens and viruses, etc., making life science research more convenient, fast and effective. (5) Bifidobacterium is a bacteria in the intestine that improves the balance of the human microecology. Live bifidobacterium preparations are a powerful weapon for preventing and treating diseases.

cosmetic

The application of trehalose in cosmetics is based on its excellent properties of maintaining cell viability and biomacromolecule activity. Skin cells, especially epidermal cells, are very likely to lose water and become keratinized, or even die and fall off in environments such as high temperature, extreme cold, dryness, and strong ultraviolet radiation, causing skin damage. In this case, trehalose can form a special protective film on the surface of cells. The mucus precipitated from the membrane not only moisturizes the skin cells, but also has the function of radiating external heat. Thereby protecting the skin from damage.

After reading the above detailed introduction to the effects and functions of trehalose, I believe that you all have a general understanding of trehalose. Trehalose has great effects and functions in food, pharmaceutical industry, and even in beauty and skin care products. Therefore, trehalose is a very practical natural sugar.