Trehalose
Introduction
Trehalose, also known as mycose or tremalose, is a natural alpha-linked disaccharide formed by an α,α-1,1-glucoside bond between two α-glucose units. In 1832, H.A.L. Wiggers discovered trehalose in an ergot of rye, and in 1859 Marcellin Berthelot isolated it from Tremella mesenterica. It can be synthesized by bacteria, fungi, plants, and invertebrate animals. It is implicated in anhydrobiosis — the ability of plants and animals to withstand prolonged periods of desiccation.
Chemistry
Trehalose is a disaccharide formed by a 1,1-glycosidic link between two α-glucose units. Because trehalose is formed by the linking of two reducing aldehyde groups, it has no capacity to participate in the Maillard reaction. There is an enzyme, known as trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (TPS), that controls the synthesis of trehalose.
Properties and Uses
Trehalose has high water retention capabilities, and is used in food and cosmetics. The sugar is thought to form a gel phase as cells dehydrate, which prevents disruption of internal cell organelles, by effectively splinting them in position. Rehydration then allows normal cellular activity to be resumed without the major, lethal damage that would normally follow a dehydration/rehydration cycle.
Trehalose has the added advantage of being an antioxidant. Extracting trehalose was once a difficult and costly process, but circa the year 2000, the Hayashibara company (Okayama, Japan) confirmed an inexpensive extraction technology from starch for mass production.
Health and Nutrition
Trehalose is nutritionally equivalent to glucose, because it is rapidly broken down into glucose by the enzyme trehalase, which is present in the brush border of the intestinal mucosa of omnivores (including humans) and herbivores.
There are some concerns about trehalose and pathogenic microorganisms. Some disease-causing bacteria and fungi, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Candida albicans, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, utilize trehalose to survive in the host organism. However, the role of dietary trehalose in these infections is still unclear.
Biological Role
Trehalose is used in a wide range of organisms. In yeast, fungi, and insects, trehalose is synthesized via the enzyme trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (TPS1 and TPS2) and degraded via trehalase. Trehalose also serves as a carbon source for plants and microorganisms, and as a form of energy storage in some organisms.