L-(+)-Arabinose

L-Arabinose is the naturally occurring isomer and is a constituent of plant polysaccharides. It is more common than D-arabinose in nature as a component of biopolymers such as hemicellulose and pectin. Most bacteria contain an inducible arabinose operon that codes for a series of enzymes and transporters that allows L-arabinose to be used as the sole carbon source in microbial culture. L-Arabinose is used as a substrate to identify, differentiate and characterize pentose sugar isomerase(s) and is used in the bioproduction of L-ribose. Originally commercialized as a sweetener, arabinose is an inhibitor of sucrase, the enzyme that breaks down sucrose into glucose and fructose in the small intestine. Arabinose could be used in foods to attenuate the peak of glycemic response after the consumption of sucrose. Arabinose is a potential prebiotic, because it cannot be absorbed by human intestine and could be utilized by probiotics such as bifidobacteria.