Erythritol vs Allulose: what is the difference?
Erythritol is a sugar alcohol and allulose is a real sugar, so allulose browns and caramelises like sugar while erythritol does not.
Allulose is two carbons longer, with a ketone.
Sources and notes
- The sentence under the titlefrom sourceMoleculeFinder comparison notesThe pair's answer line.
- The two drawingscomputedMoleculeFinder rule (RDKit MCS)Drawn the same way round on the skeleton they share; the amber marks where the two differ.
- The captionfrom sourceMoleculeFinder curated
- What is highlightedfrom sourceMoleculeFinder curatedOne line under each drawing, written from the atoms the amber marks.
- Structural similaritycomputedRDKit Morgan/Tanimoto0.40 of 1, a Morgan fingerprint Tanimoto coefficient. It measures shape, not effect.
Side by side
| Erythritol | Allulose | |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular weightCalculated PubChem | 122.12 g/molC4H10O4 | 180.16 g/molC6H12O6 |
| Hydrogen-bond donorsCalculated PubChem | 4 | 5 |
| SweetnessMeasured HSDB via PubChem; FDA | 0.6× sugar | 0.7× sugar |
| Against table sugar, which is 1. | ||
| Where each turns upEditorial MoleculeFinder food and product lists |
|
|
| FamilyEditorial MoleculeFinder curated | Sugar alcohols | Sugars |
| Everyday groupEditorial MoleculeFinder curated | Sweetener | Sweetener |
| Chemical groupsCalculated Found by rule (RDKit) | Alcohols | Alcohols, Ketones |
| Hazard labelReported ECHA via PubChem | Warning | Not recorded |
| The supplier-filed hazard label's signal word, not a statement about ordinary use. | ||
Sources and notes
- Molecular weightcomputedPubChemComputed from the structure; the formula is under each weight.
- Hydrogen-bond donorscomputedPubChemThe hydrogens on nitrogen or oxygen that each molecule can lend to a hydrogen bond, counted from its structure.
- Sweetnessfrom sourceHSDB via PubChem; FDA
- Where each turns upfrom sourceMoleculeFinder food and product listsEach amount is an editorial figure from our lists, not a measurement of any one product. Each mark is set by hand on the list, never inferred.
- Familyfrom sourceMoleculeFinder curated
- Everyday groupfrom sourceMoleculeFinder curated
- Chemical groupscomputedFound by rule (RDKit)Each group is found in the structure by a chemical pattern.
- Hazard labelfrom sourceECHA via PubChem
- ECHAfrom sourceAttributionSource: European Chemicals Agency, echa.europa.eu.
- Identifiersfrom sourcePubChemPubChem CID 222285 (Erythritol) and 90008 (Allulose).
In more detail
These are both sugar substitutes that behave almost like sugar in the mouth but not in the body, and they belong to different chemical classes. Erythritol is a sugar alcohol, C4H10O4, absorbed and excreted essentially unchanged. Allulose is a real sugar, a rare epimer of fructose with the same C6H12O6 formula as glucose, which the body absorbs but barely metabolises. That distinction matters in the kitchen: allulose browns and caramelises the way sugar does because it is one, and erythritol does not. Erythritol has the cooling mouthfeel that sugar alcohols share, while allulose does not, and allulose is the sweeter of the two, roughly 70 percent as sweet as sugar against erythritol's 60.
Sources and notes
- The paragraphfrom sourceMoleculeFinder comparison notes
Questions
- What is the difference between Erythritol and Allulose?
- Erythritol is a sugar alcohol and allulose is a real sugar, so allulose browns and caramelises like sugar while erythritol does not.
- Is Erythritol bigger than Allulose?
- Allulose is the heavier molecule, 180.16 g/mol against 122.12 g/mol for Erythritol. Erythritol is C4H10O4 and Allulose is C6H12O6.
- Is Erythritol sweeter than Allulose?
- Allulose is the sweeter of the two, about 0.7 times as sweet as table sugar against about 0.6 times for Erythritol. Sweetness here is measured against sucrose, which is defined as 1.
Sources and notes
- The answersfrom sourceMoleculeFinderThe first is the pair's answer line; the others are read off the table above.