li@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Siufai Li) (06/27/88)
I have been told that humans can only digest R-glucose, but not L-glucose. But that both taste as sweet. Therefore to get really rich, find a cheap way to make L-glucose. Can anyone in netland confirm/deny this rumor? thanks, siu fai
vu0112@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu (Cliff Joslyn) (06/29/88)
In article <5193@super.upenn.edu> li@eniac.seas.upenn.edu.UUCP (Siufai Li) writes: >I have been told that humans can only digest R-glucose, but not L-glucose. >But that both taste as sweet. Therefore to get really rich, find a cheap >way to make L-glucose. Can anyone in netland confirm/deny this rumor? Confirmed, just as you said: biologically inert except for the nerve endings. In fact, it's patented. In fact, my mother owns stock in the company holding the patent. We're all crossing our fingers. The problem is the "cheap" part. Not yet. -- O----------------------------------------------------------------------> | Cliff Joslyn, Cybernetician at Large | Systems Science, SUNY Binghamton, vu0112@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu V All the world is biscuit shaped. . .
werner@aecom.YU.EDU (Craig Werner) (06/29/88)
In article <5193@super.upenn.edu>, li@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Siufai Li) writes: > I have been told that humans can only digest R-glucose, but not L-glucose. > But that both taste as sweet. Therefore to get really rich, find a cheap > way to make L-glucose. Can anyone in netland confirm/deny this rumor? > Well, there's no such thing as R-glucose, the opposite of L is D in sugars (as opposed to R,S when dealing with other chiral molecules). But the first assertion is true. L-glucose is just as sweet, but is not digested. The bad news is that somebody's already thought of the idea, and has it patented. The stuff is slowly winding through FDA approval as a food additive. And it is so expensive that the market for it isn't projected to be that large. So much for get-rich-quick schemes. -- Craig Werner (future MD/PhD, 4 years down, 3 to go) werner@aecom.YU.EDU -- Albert Einstein College of Medicine (1935-14E Eastchester Rd., Bronx NY 10461, 212-931-2517) "I never knew there was anything wrong with me till I met Dr. Hackenbush."
dd26+@andrew.cmu.edu (Douglas F. DeJulio) (07/09/88)
*Excerpts from ext.nn.sci.bio: 27-Jun-88 Glucose Digestion Siufai* *Li@eniac.seas.upe (237)* > I have been told that humans can only digest R-glucose, but not L-glucose. > But that both taste as sweet. Therefore to get really rich, find a cheap > way to make L-glucose. Can anyone in netland confirm/deny this rumor? The rumor is true: there are two varieties of glucose, both taste sweet, only one is metabolized properly. If I remember correctly, the 'wrong' type of glucose does mean nasty ugly things to the liver or kidneys. Doug.deJ
bph@buengc.BU.EDU (Blair P. Houghton) (07/10/88)
In article <cWpIAsy00Uo54Ar2g6@andrew.cmu.edu> dd26+@andrew.cmu.edu (Douglas F. DeJulio) writes: >*Excerpts from ext.nn.sci.bio: 27-Jun-88 Glucose Digestion Siufai* >*Li@eniac.seas.upe (237)* > >> I have been told that humans can only digest R-glucose, but not L-glucose. >> But that both taste as sweet. Therefore to get really rich, find a cheap >> way to make L-glucose. Can anyone in netland confirm/deny this rumor? > > The rumor is true: there are two varieties of glucose, both taste >sweet, only one is metabolized properly. If I remember correctly, the 'wrong' >type of glucose does mean nasty ugly things to the liver or kidneys. > >Doug.deJ You're not going to get rich off it, either, unless you coerce the rights off the company in Rockville, Maryland (I think, and I can't remember the name; "Biogenenterectitech" would be a fair guess) to the stuff. They produce it only in very small quantities, not enough to even bake a cake with, or so the story in _The Washington Post_ went a couple of years back. Therefore, a *cheap* way to make it, as you say, would be quite profitable. --Blair P.S. Hey! This is sci.bio! Can anyone explain the difference between tasting L-glucose and digesting it? I'm a lowly VLSI engineer, and it's a long time since...