Lactitol: Production, properties, and applications

Sergio I.Martínez-Monteagudo, Maryam Enteshari, LloydMetzger

Trends in Food Science & Technology Volume 83, January 2019, Pages 181-191

Lactitol is a sugar alcohol or polyol obtained from the catalytic hydrogenation of lactose. Although lactitol is commonly used to deliver sweetness at low caloric value, lactitol is a multipurpose compound having various applications in the field of food, dairy, and pharmaceutical. This review is aimed at discussing key functional properties of lactitol and their applications thereof. A number of applications have been reported for lactitol including surfactant and emulsifier agent, as well as a platform chemical for the formation of hydrogels. Lactitol is also used extensively in formulating bakery, chocolate, confectionary, dessert, chewing gum, and as delivery agent with pharmaceutical purposes (lactitol hydrogel). Research efforts are required to understand the interaction of lactitol with the other food components during processing as well as a comprehensive evaluation of the final product properties.