ABSTRACT

D-Psicose, a C-3 epimer of D-fructose, is a “rare sugar” present in small amounts in nature products. We investigated whether D-psicose suppresses the glycemic response after ingestion of various confections in healthy subjects. In Experiment 1, 22 male and 21 female subjects were randomly divided into 3 groups: marshmallow, fried cookie and chocolate groups. The test meals were these 3 confections containing 45 g of carbohydrate and hot coffee with 5 g of D-psicose or sucrose. The increase in blood glucose concentration after intake of various confections was significantly lower with simultaneous intake of coffee and D-psicose than with that of coffee with sucrose. In Experiment 2, 4 male and 5 female subjects ate the cake, almond jelly, baked cookie, fried cookie, and ganache containing 5 g of D-psicose or sucrose as raw materials. The increase in plasma glucose concentration was significantly lower after intake of almond jelly and ganache containing D-psicose than those containing sucrose. The postprandial plasma glucose concentration did not differ between intake of confections containing D-psicose and sucrose cooked at high temperature. These results suggested that D-psicose is effective for the hypoglycemic response as a functional food material. However, this effect may be suppressed by high temperature cooking. Care is necessary when D-psicose is used as a food material.

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