Erythritol and blood sugar after meals in diabetic mice
What it found
Erythritol lowered blood sugar after a starch meal in diabetic mice but not in healthy ones.
Lab tests showed it blocks a gut enzyme that breaks down starch into sugar.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Blood sugar in diabetic mice
In mice with diabetes, erythritol at 500 mg per kg lowered blood sugar after a starch meal. The effect was similar to a standard diabetes drug given at 4 mg per kg.
Blood sugar in healthy mice
In healthy mice, erythritol did not change blood sugar levels after eating starch compared to water alone.
Blocking the starch enzyme
In lab tests, erythritol blocked alpha-glucosidase, the gut enzyme that breaks starch into sugar. It worked by competing for the same spot on the enzyme where starch normally attaches.
Other findings
How it binds to the enzyme
Computer models showed erythritol fitting into the active pocket of the enzyme. It formed chemical bonds with specific parts of the enzyme called Asp215, Asp69, and Arg446.
What the authors conclude
- They suggest erythritol may work as more than just a sugar substitute in foods.
- The authors say it could be a useful tool for managing blood sugar after meals in people with diabetes.
How it was done
Diabetes affects 415 million people worldwide, and high blood sugar after meals raises the risk of heart disease. The authors wanted to see if erythritol could help control these after-meal spikes.
They gave 30 mice either water, a standard diabetes drug, or erythritol at 500 mg per kg of body weight along with starch. Some mice had chemically induced diabetes and some were healthy. They measured blood sugar over 180 minutes and ran lab tests on the gut enzyme that turns starch into sugar.
What it can’t tell you
- These results come from mice with chemically induced diabetes, so they cannot show what happens in people who eat erythritol.
- The computer models and test tube experiments do not prove that this enzyme blocking happens inside a human gut.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Northwest Plateau Institute of Biology, People's Republic of China; Xiamen University, People's Republic of China; University of St Andrews, United Kingdom
The paper
- Title
- Erythritol Attenuates Postprandial Blood Glucose by Inhibiting α-Glucosidase
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Wen H, Tang B, Stewart AJ, et al (2018). Erythritol Attenuates Postprandial Blood Glucose by Inhibiting α-Glucosidase. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry. doi:10.1021/acs.jafc.7b05033Free full textPubMed 29361825DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error