Psicose

D-Psicose (D-allulose, D-ribo-2-hexulose, C₆H₁₂O₆) is a low-energy monosaccharide sugar present in small quantities in natural products. First identified in wheat more than 70 years ago, psicose is a C-3 epimer of D-fructose, and is present in small quantities in agricultural products and commercially prepared carbohydrate complexes. The sweetness of psicose is 70% of the sweetness of sucrose, and health benefits of psicose may include improved insulin resistance, antioxidant enhancement and formation, and hypoglycemic controls.

History

The first mass-production method for psicose was established when Ken Izumori at Kagawa University in Japan discovered the key enzyme, D-tagatose 3-epimerase, to convert fructose to D-psicose in 1994. This method of production has a high yield, but suffers from a very high production cost.

CJ CheilJedang was the first company to file for GRAS status in the US.

Commercial application of D-psicose

Commercial manufacturers and food laboratories are looking into properties of D-psicose that may differentiate it from sucrose and fructose sweeteners, including an ability to induce the high foaming property of egg white protein and the production of antioxidant substances produced through the Maillard reaction.