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A rare sugar xylitol. Part II: biotechnological production and future applications of xylitol

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Abstract

Xylitol is the first rare sugar that has global markets. It has beneficial health properties and represents an alternative to current conventional sweeteners. Industrially, xylitol is produced by chemical hydrogenation of d-xylose into xylitol. The biotechnological method of producing xylitol by metabolically engineered yeasts, Saccharomyces cerevisiae or Candida, has been studied as an alternative to the chemical method. Due to the industrial scale of production, xylitol serves as an inexpensive starting material for the production of other rare sugars. The second part of this mini-review on xylitol will look more closely at the biotechnological production and future applications of the rare sugar, xylitol.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rare Sugar Research Center, Kagawa University, Miki-cho, Kagawa, 761-0795, Japan

    Tom Birger Granström & Ken Izumori

  2. Laboratory of Bioprocess Engineering, Helsinki University of Technology, P.O. Box 6100, Espoo, 02015, Finland

    Matti Leisola

Authors
  1. Tom Birger Granström
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  2. Ken Izumori
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  3. Matti Leisola
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Correspondence to Tom Birger Granström.

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Granström, T.B., Izumori, K. & Leisola, M. A rare sugar xylitol. Part II: biotechnological production and future applications of xylitol. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 74, 273–276 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-006-0760-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-006-0760-4

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