![Badal Saha discusses the research with Greg Kennedy and Ohiole Ake. Link to photo information](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081107213144im_/http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/graphics/photos/mar03/k10300-1i.jpg)
Chemist Badal Saha (left) discusses control
parameters of mannitol production by fermentation with technician Greg Kennedy
(center) and student aide Ohiole Ake. Click the image for more information
about it.
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Bacteria-based Production Method Patented
By Jan Suszkiw
March 30, 2005 Look on a package of gum and you'll
probably notice the word mannitol. Scientifically described as a sugar alcohol,
mannitol is a minty-tasting ingredient found in many foods and boasts fewer
calories than table sugar.
Though made by some plants and algae, mannitol is commercially produced by
chemical means. In February, however, the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) obtained a patent (US 6,855,526, B2)
on a method that weds nature with modern technology. ARS chemist
Badal
Saha calls his method "biobased" because it involves feeding
high-fructose corn syrup to the bacterial species Lactobacillus intermedius in
a deep-tank fermentor. There, over several hours' time, the bacteria convert 72
percent of the syrup into mannitol.
Mannitol, to L. intermedius, is little more than a metabolic waste product.
But to food processors, mannitol is a valuable bodying agent, preservative and
diabetic-friendly sweetener, according to Saha, with the ARS
National
Center for Agricultural Utilization Research at Peoria, Ill.
Mannitol also has pharmaceutical and medical uses, such as an osmotic
diuretic and a hypertension treatment. Manufacturers traditionally produce
mannitol by subjecting a 50-50 mixture of fructose and glucose to a nickel
catalyst and high-pressure hydrogenation. Besides producing chemical wastes,
the process is time-consuming and converts only 25 percent of these sugars to
mannitol, sold for around $3.25 a pound.
Saha's Lactobacillus bacterium uses powerful enzymes to do this far more
efficiently--and not just with fructose. In Saha's trials at the ARS center's
Fermentation Biotechnology Research Unit, the bacterium also produced mannitol
from sucrose and other sugars.
Since 2002, Saha has collaborated with zuChem, Inc., of Chicago, Ill., to scale-up
and refine the approach under a cooperative research and development agreement.
Last fall, zuChem successfully petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to approve mannitol
produced by microbial fermentation. Saha's research reflects the ARS center's
overarching mission of creating new, value-added markets for agricultural
commodities, especially from corn and soybeans.
ARS is the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.