What is the Difference Between Mannitol and D-Mannitol

The key difference between mannitol and D-mannitol is that mannitol is a type of sugar useful as a sweetener and as a medication, whereas D-mannitol is the D enantiomer of mannitol which is the most abundant and useful mannitol.

Mannitol is a sugar alcohol that is useful both as a sweetener and as a medication. D-mannitol is the most abundant isomer of mannitol. It is the D enantiomer of mannitol. Mannitol is an isomer of sorbitol. These two sugar alcohols differ from each other according to the orientation of the hydroxyl group that is attached to the second carbon atom of the sugar molecule.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Mannitol 
3. What is D-Mannitol
4. Relationship – Mannitol and D-Mannitol
5. Mannitol vs D-Mannitol in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Mannitol vs D-Mannitol

What is Mannitol?

Mannitol is a sugar alcohol that is useful both as a sweetener and as a medication. Since it is poorly absorbed by the intestine, we can use mannitol in diabetic food. As a medication, we can use mannitol to decrease pressure in the eyes and lower increased intracranial pressure. It can be administrated in the form of an injection for medical purposes.

Mannitol is an isomer of sorbitol. These two sugar alcohols differ from each other according to the orientation of the hydroxyl group that is attached to the second carbon atom of the sugar molecule.

We can obtain mannitol via the reduction of mannose sugar. However, the industrial-scale synthesis of mannitol is via the hydrogenation of fructose. Moreover, some organisms produce mannitol as a source of energy, e.g., bacteria, fungi, algae, lichens, etc. In addition, we can directly extract mannitol from its natural sources, such as seaweed.

What is D-Mannitol?

D-mannitol is the most abundant isomer of mannitol. It is the D enantiomer of mannitol. Usually, D-mannitol is commonly named as mannitol. Moreover, mannitol is an isomer of sorbitol.

The two major isomers of mannitol are D-mannitol and L-mannitol. Among them, L-mannitol is rarely found and is less common.

What is the Relationship Between Mannitol and D-Mannitol?

• There are two enantiomers of mannitol as L enantiomer and D enantiomer.
• In addition, L enantiomer is rare and D enantiomer is the abundant form.

What is the Difference Between Mannitol and D-Mannitol?

Mannitol is an important type of sugar. It is useful both as a sweetener and as a medication. Also, there are two major enantiomer forms of mannitol as the L enantiomer and the D enantiomer. The key difference between mannitol and D-mannitol is that mannitol is a type of sugar useful as a sweetener and as a medication, whereas D-mannitol is the D enantiomer of mannitol which is the most abundant and useful mannitol.

Below is a summary of the difference between mannitol and D-mannitol in tabular form for side by side comparison.

Summary – Mannitol vs D-Mannitol

Mannitol is a sugar alcohol that is useful both as a sweetener and as a medication. Whereas, D-mannitol is the most abundant isomer of mannitol. It is the D enantiomer of mannitol. So, the key difference between mannitol and D-mannitol is that mannitol is a type of sugar useful as a sweetener and as a medication, whereas D-mannitol is the D enantiomer of mannitol which is the most abundant and useful mannitol.

Reference:

1. “Mannitol.” Science Direct.
2. “Mannitol.” Uses, Interactions, Mechanism of Action | DrugBank Online.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Mannitol structure” By Edgar181 – Own work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “DL-Mannitol” By Cvf-ps – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia