Trehalose

Trehalose occurs as virtually odorless, white or almost white crystals with a sweet taste (approximately 45% of the sweetness of sucrose). It can be used as a stabilizer and protectant of proteins and membranes: protection from dehydration; protection from damage by oxygen radicals (against oxidation); protection from cold; as a sensing compound and/or growth regulator; as a structural component of the bacterial cell wall. Trehalose is used in the biopharmaceutical preservation of labile protein drugs and in the cryopreservation of human cells. It is used as an ingredient for dried and processed food, and as an artificial sweetener, with a relative sweetness of 40-45% that of sucrose. Several safety studies on trehalose have been evaluated by JECFA, 2001 and allocated an ADI of ‘not specified’. Trehalose is approved in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and UK. Trehalose could be possibly used in an eye drop solution to against corneal damage due to desiccation (dry eye syndrome).