Glucose syrup is a composite solution that combines various sugars such as glucose, maltose and various others. It is obtained from corn starch.
It is used as a sweetener in the food sector to be added to:

• Chocolate
  
• Dark sugar
  
• Candies
  
• Bakery products
  
• Ice creams
  

There is growing evidence that consumption of added sugars play a role in the recent increase of metabolic diseases: 1) The intake of derived caloric sweeteners has increased in conjunction with rising prevalence of obesity; 2) Epidemiologic data and experimental studies show a positive correlation between sugar, fructose or sweetened beverages consumption and component of the metabolic syndrome (1).

Studies in animals have documented that, compared with glucose, dietary fructose induces dyslipidemia and insulin resistance. To assess the relative effects of these dietary sugars during sustained consumption in humans, overweight and obese subjects consumed glucose- or fructose-sweetened beverages providing 25% of energy requirements for 10 weeks. Although both groups exhibited similar weight gain during the intervention, visceral adipose volume was significantly increased only in subjects consuming fructose. Fasting plasma triglyceride concentrations increased by approximately 10% during 10 weeks of glucose consumption but not after fructose consumption. In contrast, hepatic de novo lipogenesis (DNL) and the 23-hour postprandial triglyceride AUC were increased specifically during fructose consumption. Similarly, markers of altered lipid metabolism and lipoprotein remodeling, including fasting apoB, LDL, small dense LDL, oxidized LDL, and postprandial concentrations of remnant-like particle–triglyceride and –cholesterol significantly increased during fructose but not glucose consumption. In addition, fasting plasma glucose and insulin levels increased and insulin sensitivity decreased in subjects consuming fructose but not in those consuming glucose. These data suggest that dietary fructose specifically increases DNL, promotes dyslipidemia, decreases insulin sensitivity, and increases visceral adiposity in overweight/obese adults (2).

Chronic sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption is associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Hyperglycaemia contributes to metabolic alterations observed in T2DM, such as reduced oxidative capacity and elevated glycolytic and lipogenic enzyme expressions in skeletal muscle tissue. We aimed to investigate the metabolic alterations induced by SSB supplementation in healthy individuals and to compare these with the effects of chronic hyperglycaemia on primary muscle cell cultures. The major finding of this work is that 4 weeks of periodic high glucose availability can induce metabolic alterations in skeletal muscle in vivo comparable to adaptations of muscle cells towards chronic hyperglycaemic conditions in vitro. Because of the limited duration of the SSB supplementation, for evident ethical reasons and its periodic nature, 2 drinks per day, in vivo skeletal muscle metabolic changes were visible mainly at mRNA level. However, a clear metabolic shift towards carbohydrates was detectible at a protein level in vitro (3).

48 healthy people of normal weight and age between 25 and 47 years were administered daily, 75 grams of glucose equal to 300 calories, 33 grams of cream equal to 300 calories and orange juice equal to 300 calories. At the end of the study, orange juice had not produced any change in inflammatory indexes, while glucose had increased some indexes and cream had increased all of them (4).

Glucose, in essence, should be taken with caution, while the consumption of fructose should be reduced to a minimum.

Molecular Formula: C₆H₁₄O₇

Molecular Weight: 198.171 g/mol

CAS: 8029-43-4 77029-61-9

EC Number: 232-436-4

Synonyms:

• Hydrolyzed starch syrups
• D-Glucopyranose, monohydrate (9CI)
• Corn syrup
• D-Glucopyranose, monohydrate
• Syrups, hydrolyzed starch
• Corn sugar syrup
• Syrups, corn

 References_________________________________________________________________

(1) Tran C, Tappy L. Sucrose, glucose, fructose: quels sont les effets des sucres sur la santé métabolique? [ucrose, glucose, fructose consumption: what are the impacts on metabolic health?. Rev Med Suisse. 2012 Mar 7;8(331):513, 515-8. 

(2) Kuzma JN, Cromer G, Hagman DK, Breymeyer KL, Roth CL, Foster-Schubert KE, Holte SE, Weigle DS, Kratz M. Consuming glucose-sweetened, not fructose-sweetened, beverages increases fasting insulin in healthy humans. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2019 Mar;73(3):487-490. doi: 10.1038/s41430-018-0297-5.

(3) Sartor F, Jackson MJ, Squillace C, Shepherd A, Moore JP, Ayer DE, Kubis HP. Adaptive metabolic response to 4 weeks of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in healthy, lightly active individuals and chronic high glucose availability in primary human myotubes. Eur J Nutr. 2013 Apr;52(3):937-48. doi: 10.1007/s00394-012-0401-x. 

(4) Deopurkar R, Ghanim H, Friedman J, Abuaysheh S, Sia CL, Mohanty P, Viswanathan P, Chaudhuri A, Dandona P. Differential effects of cream, glucose, and orange juice on inflammation, endotoxin, and the expression of Toll-like receptor-4 and suppressor of cytokine signaling-3. Diabetes Care. 2010 May;33(5):991-7. doi: 10.2337/dc09-1630.