O-(HYDROXYPROPYL)SUCROSE

A laboratory procedure for making O-(hydroxypropyl)sucrose preparation s containing predominantly, in decreasing order, derivatives containin g one, two, and three hydroxypropyl ether groups has been developed. T he product was noncrystalline. A sample which contained primarily mono - and di-hydroxypropylated sucrose molecules gave a conservative maxim um of 3% cleavage when treated with invertase (beta-fructofuranosidase ) and sucrase (sucrose alpha-D-glucohydrolase) during an 18 h digestio n, indicating possible application as a reduced-calorie bulking agent. Incubation with a culture of fecal bacteria indicated no metabolism o f O-(hydroxypropyl)sucrose by, and no toxicity to, colonic microorgani sms. One chromatographically pure fraction was determined to be 6-O-(h ydroxypropyl)sucrose.