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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2023 Jan 15;15(2):458.
doi: 10.3390/nu15020458.

Metabolic Effects and Safety Aspects of Acute D-allulose and Erythritol Administration in Healthy Subjects

Fabienne Teysseire  1   2 , Valentine Bordier  1   2 , Aleksandra Budzinska  3   4 , Lukas Van Oudenhove  3   4   5 , Nathalie Weltens  3   4 , Christoph Beglinger  1   2 , Bettina K Wölnerhanssen  1   2 , Anne Christin Meyer-Gerspach  1   2
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Metabolic Effects and Safety Aspects of Acute D-allulose and Erythritol Administration in Healthy Subjects

Fabienne Teysseire et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

The rapid increase in sugar consumption is associated with various negative metabolic and inflammatory effects; therefore, alternative sweeteners become of interest. The aim of this study was to investigate the metabolic effects and safety aspects of acute D-allulose and erythritol on glucose, insulin, ghrelin, blood lipids, uric acid, and high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP). In three study visits, 18 healthy subjects received an intragastric administration of 25 g D-allulose or 50 g erythritol, or 300 mL tap water (placebo) in a randomized, double-blind and crossover order. To measure the aforementioned parameters, blood samples were drawn at fixed time intervals. Glucose and insulin concentrations were lower after D-allulose compared to tap water (p = 0.001, dz = 0.91 and p = 0.005, dz = 0.58, respectively); however, Bayesian models show no difference for insulin in response to D-allulose compared to tap water, and there was no effect after erythritol. An exploratory analysis showed that ghrelin concentrations were reduced after erythritol compared to tap water (p = 0.026, dz = 0.59), with no effect after D-allulose; in addition, both sweeteners had no effect on blood lipids, uric acid and hsCRP. This combination of properties identifies both sweeteners as excellent candidates for effective and safe sugar alternatives.

Keywords: D-allulose; blood lipids; erythritol; ghrelin; glycemic control; healthy subjects; hsCRP; sweeteners; uric acid.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study timeline: Intragastric administration of the solutions at t = 0 min to 18 healthy subjects in a randomized, double-blind, crossover order, in three different study visits after an overnight fast. The red tubes indicate blood sample collection.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Glucose (A) and insulin (B) concentrations in response to intragastric administration of solutions containing 25 g D-allulose, 50 g erythritol or tap water to 18 healthy subjects. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM, and changes from baseline values are shown.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Raincloud plots showing the Bayesian repeated measures ANOVA on the AUC of glucose (A) or insulin (B) concentrations in response to the intragastric administration of solutions containing 25 g D-allulose (green), 50 g erythritol (orange) or tap water (purple) to 18 healthy subjects.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Ghrelin concentrations in response to intragastric administration of solutions containing 25 g D-allulose, 50 g erythritol or tap water to 18 healthy subjects. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM, and changes from baseline values are shown.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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