The Contents of Sucrose, Glucose, and Other Sugars and the pH of Commercially Available Candies

Abstract

Recently, candies containing sugar substitutes have been increasing on the market, but the sucrose content, which has the ability to induce dental caries, is not clearly known. Some studies have reported that certain kinds of sugar substitute do not induce dental caries, but some substitutes which induce dental caries were found in candies sold on the market. In this study, therefore, the sugar contents (sucrose, glucose, and other sugars) and pH of candies (25 kinds) were determined. Candies were diluted 10 times with distilled water. The total sugar content of samples was measured by density using a refractometer (N-20E, ATAGO, Japan). Then, the content of sucrose and glucose in each candy was determined using a biochemistry analyzer (2700 SELECT, YSI, USA). The content of sucrose and glucose in fruit-flavored candies was significantly higher than that in throat lozenges (p<0.05). On the other hand, the content of other sugar substitutes which might have a lesser I risk of inducing dental caries in throat lozenges was significantly higher than that of fruit-flavored candies (p<0.01). The sugar content investigated in the present study varied with candies. The pH of most candies was less than 5.4, and the pH of fruit-flavored candy was the lowest. It is concluded that "sugarless candies" should be chosen when consuming candies as snacks.