Hydrogenated starch hydrosylate (HSH) is a mixture of several sugar alcohol

Sugar alcohol

A sugar alcohol is a hydrogenated form of carbohydrate, whose carbonyl group has been reduced to a primary or secondary hydroxyl group . Sugar alcohols have the general formula Hn+1H, whereas sugars have HnHCO...

s (a type of sugar substitute). Hydrogenated starch hydrolysates were developed by a Swedish company in the 1960s. In the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, hydrogenated starch hydrolysates are provided by three manufacturers. The HSH family of polyols is an approved food ingredient in Canada, Japan, and Australia. HSH sweeteners provide 40 to 90 percent of the sweetness of sugar.

Hydrogenated starch hydrolysates are produced by the partial hydrolysis

Hydrolysis

Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction during which molecules of water are split into hydrogen cations and hydroxide anions in the process of a chemical mechanism. It is the type of reaction that is used to break down certain polymers, especially those made by condensation polymerization...

 of starch

Starch

Starch or amylum is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by all green plants as an energy store...

 – most often corn starch but also potato starch or wheat starch. This creates dextrin

Dextrin

Dextrins are a group of low-molecular-weight carbohydrates produced by the hydrolysis of starch or glycogen. Dextrins are mixtures of polymers of D-glucose units linked by α- or α- glycosidic bonds....

s (glucose

Glucose

Glucose is a simple sugar and an important carbohydrate in biology. Cells use it as the primary source of energy and a metabolic intermediate...

 and short glucose chains). The hydrolyzed starch (dextrin) then undergoes hydrogenation

Hydrogenation

Hydrogenation, to treat with hydrogen, also a form of chemical reduction, is a chemical reaction between molecular hydrogen and another compound or element, usually in the presence of a catalyst. The process is commonly employed to reduce or saturate organic compounds. Hydrogenation typically...

 to convert the dextrins to sugar alcohols.

Hydrogenated starch hydrolysate is similar to sorbitol

Sorbitol

Sorbitol, also known as glucitol, Sorbogem® and Sorbo®, is a sugar alcohol that the human body metabolizes slowly. It can be obtained by reduction of glucose, changing the aldehyde group to a hydroxyl group. Sorbitol is found in apples, pears, peaches, and prunes...

: if the starch is completely hydrolyzed so that there are only single glucose molecules, then after hydrogenation the result is sorbitol. Because in HSH the starch is not completely hydrolyzed, a mixture of sorbitol, maltitol

Maltitol

Maltitol is a sugar alcohol used as a sugar substitute. It has 75-90% of the sweetness of sucrose and nearly identical properties, except for browning. It is used to replace table sugar because it has fewer calories, does not promote tooth decay, and has a somewhat lesser effect on blood glucose...

, and longer chain hydrogenated saccharides (such as maltotriitol) is produced. When there is no single dominant polyol

Polyol

A polyol is an alcohol containing multiple hydroxyl groups. In two technological disciplines the term "polyol" has a special meaning: food science and polymer chemistry.- Polyols in food science :...

 in the mix, the generic name hydrogenated starch hydrosylate is used. However, if 50% or more of the polyols in the mixture are of one type, it can be labeled as "sorbitol syrup", or "maltitol syrup", etc.

Uses

Hydrogenated starch hydrolysate is used commercially in the same way as other common sugar alcohols. It is often used in as both a sweetener and as a humectant (moisture retaining ingredient). As a crystallization modifier, it can prevent syrups from forming crystals of sugar. It is used to add bulk, body, texture, and viscosity to mixtures, and can protect against damage from freezing and drying. HSH products are generally blended with other sweeteners, both caloric and artificial.

Health and Safety

Similar to xylitol

Xylitol

Xylitol is a sugar alcohol sweetener used as a naturally occurring sugar substitute. It is found in the fibers of many fruits and vegetables, and can be extracted from various berries, oats, and mushrooms, as well as fibrous material such as corn husks and sugar cane bagasse, and birch...

, hydrogenated starch hydrolysates are not readily fermented by oral bacteria and are used to formulate sugarless products that do not promote dental caries

Dental caries

Dental caries, also known as tooth decay or a cavity, is an irreversible infection usually bacterial in origin that causes demineralization of the hard tissues and destruction of the organic matter of the tooth, usually by production of acid by hydrolysis of the food debris accumulated on the...

.
HSH are also more slowly absorbed in the digestive tract, thus, have a reduced glycemic potential relative to glucose.