Fruit Fructose Glucose Sucrose Sorbitol Sol. The digestibility, absorption and tolerance of fruit juices are determined by the type and concentration of carbohydrate, the amount of sorbitol present as well as fibre content. 6,7 The soluble fibres modulate the gastric emptying and manifest different water-holding capacities and viscosity. This can prolong gastric emptying time. Several principles of carbohydrate, particularly sugar, metabolism can be briefly stated.
Fruit juices contain varying proportions of fructose, sucrose and glucose as well as sorbitol.
It is malabsorbed by healthy individuals and this is the basis for its use as a sugar-free product. The capacity to absorb fructose and sorbitol is more limited in children than in adults. Fructose may be incompletely absorbed depending on the presence of glucose and sorbitol. Dietary fructose in equivalent quantities to glucose is readily absorbed. However, sorbitol inhibits fructose absorption while glucose stimulates fructose uptake in a dose-dependent fashion.