Trehalose Trehalose , also known as mycose , is an alpha-linked ( disaccharide ) sugar found extensively but not abundantly in nature . It can be synthesised by fungi , plants and invertebrate animals . It is implicated in anhydrobiosis - the ability of plants and animals to withstand prolonged periods of desiccation . The sugar is thought to form a gel phase as cells dehydrate , which prevents disruption of internal cell organelles by effectively splinting them in position . Rehydration then allows normal cellular activity to be resumed without the major , generally lethal damage , that would normally follow a dehydration/reyhdration cycle . Trehalose has the added advantage of being an antioxidant . Chemistry Trehalose is a non-reducing sugar formed from two glucose units joined by a 1-1 alpha bond giving it the name of α-D-glucopyranosyl- ( 1→1 ) -α-D-glucopyranoside . The bonding makes trehalose very resistant to acid hydrolysis , and therefore stable in solution at high temperatures even under acidic conditions . The bonding also keeps non-reducing sugars in closed-ring form , such that the aldehyde or ketone end-groups do not bind to the lysine or arginine residues of proteins ( a process called glycation ) . Trehalose has about 45% the sweetness of sucrose . Trehalose is less soluble than sucrose , except at high temperatures ( > 80°C ) . Trehalose forms a rhomboid crystal as the dihydrate , and has 90% of the calorific content of sucrose in that form . Anhydrous forms of trehalose readily regain moisture to form the dihydrate . Anhydrous forms of trehalose can show interesting physical properties when heat treated . Biochemistry Trehalose is metabolized by a number of bacteria , including Streptococcus mutans , the common oral bacteria responsible for oral plaque . The enzyme trehalase , a glycoside hydrolase , present but not abundant in most people , breaks trehalose into two glucose molecules , which can then be readily absorbed in the gut . Trehalose is the major carbohydrate energy storage molecule used by insects for flight . One possible reason for this is that the double glycosidic linkage of trehalose , when acted upon by an insect trehalase , releases two molecules of glucose , which is required for the rapid energy requirements of flight . This is double the efficiency of glucose release from the storage polymer starch , for which cleavage of one glycosidic linkage releases only one glucose molecule . Natural sources Trehala manna Locust Resurrection plant Fungi Use Trehalose has been accepted as a novel food ingredient under the GRAS terms in the U.S. and the EU. Trehalose has also found commercial application as a food ingredient . However , less-soluble and less-sweet than sucrose , trehalose is seldom used as a direct replacement for conventional sweeteners , such as sucrose , regarded as the `` gold standard. '' The development has come out of Japan , where enzyme-based processes have been developed to convert wheat and corn syrups . See also Biostasis Cryptobiosis External links Cryopreservation with Sugars Novel functions and applications of trehalose Link page to external chemical sources . Categories : Carbohydrates | Disaccharides In other languages : Deutsch | Français | 日本語 | Suomi | Español 