L-Arabinose

L-Arabinose is a natural, poorly absorbed pentose that selectively inhibits intestinal sucrase activity.

L-Arabinoseis a pentose with a sweet taste. It is absorbed from the intestinal tract in rats (1, ,2) and chicks (3, ,4) but at a lower rate than glucose. A portion of the ingested L-arabinose is excreted in the urine (1). Although widely present in nature, L-arabinose is rarely used, and its physiological effects in vivo have received little attention. Seri et al. (5) demonstrated that L-arabinose selectively inhibits intestinal sucrase activity in a noncompetitive manner and suppresses the plasma glucose increase due to sucrose ingestion.

Osaki, S.; Kimura, T.; Sugimoto, T.; Hizukuri, S.; Iritani, N., L-arabinose feeding prevents increases due to dietary sucrose in lipogenic enzymes and triacylglycerol levels in rats. The Journal of nutrition 2001, 131 (3), 796-799.