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The first time that the existence of the “dream carbohydrate” Trehalose
became clear scientifically was in 1832. Wiggers discovered the carbohydrate
in ergot of rye. Later, in 1859, Berthelot gave the carbohydrate the name
“Trehalose” as he had separated it from trehala manna (a substance produced
by weevils in the Persia region).
From then on, it was expected that it would probably be possible to apply the strange powers Trehalose possesses in various fields and a great deal of research took place. However, the extraction of Trehalose was difficult and even assuming it could be done, it was very much a luxury good at prices of \30,000~50,000 a kilo. It was assumed that the commercialization of Trehalose would not be possible as long as no method for mass producing the substance was discovered. In 1994, Hayashibara was the first company in the world to succeed in the mass production of Trehalose from starch using microorganism and enzyme technology. With the price reducing to the level of \300 a kilo, the use of Trehalose is now expanding rapidly.
Furthermore, there have even been trial reports recently that Trehalose is also related to health and the carbohydrate has started to attract attention in the medical field as well. |
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There is some very interesting information in the Old Testament story of
Moses’ flight from Egypt (the story of how Moses led the Israelites from
Egypt to Israel).
When the Israelites were wandering through the desert, they survived famine
by eating a faint white berry-like fruit instead of bread, in accordance
with the revelation of their God Jehovah. The Israelites called this fruit,
which had a flavor like wafers filled with honey, “manna,” and they continued
to eat it in the 40 years that it took them to reach Canaan.
Among the various types of the manna described in this story is one known
as trehala manna, and this manna contains a lot of Trehalose. Actually,
that is the origin of the name Trehalose. |
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Living creatures, including humans, cannot survive if they run out of moisture.
But, the existence of creatures that come back to life with just the tiniest
drop of water even though they have dried up completely and appear to be
dead has been known about since ancient times. For example, the selaginella
plant that lives in the desert, the water bear (a tardigrade), and yeast,
etc, come back to life as long as they get some water, even if they have
been dried out for many years. For a long time, this revival effect was
treated as a mysterious phenomenon, the cause of which remained unknown.
Recently however, it has been understood that a carbohydrate contained
in the cells of living creatures is closely involved with this mysterious
revival effect. That carbohydrate is Trehalose. Researchers have said that
Trehalose protects the cells in place of water. Consequently, Trehalose
has also been called the “carbohydrate of life” and the “revival carbohydrate.” |
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| To raise a more familiar example, dried shiitake mushrooms return to their original state even after a number of months if they are soaked in hot or cold water. This is also due to the action of Trehalose. It has been reported in testing that the more Trehalose contained in the shiitake mushrooms, the closer they return to their original state. |
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| Insects such as grasshoppers, locusts and bees are comfortable flying or hopping for long periods of time even over great distances. Where on earth do they store the energy to do that inside their tiny bodies? Trehalose is accumulated in their bodily fluids and they convert it into glucose when required. The fact is that the blood sugar of mammals such as humans is glucose, but the blood sugar of these insects is Trehalose. |
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