Tagatose is a functional sweetener. It is a naturally occurring monosaccharide, specifically a hexose. It is often found in dairy products, and is very similar in texture to sucrose (table sugar) and is 92% as sweet, but with only 38% of the calories. It is approved as a food additive as a low calorie sweetener. Additionally, it is under investigation by Spherix for the treatment of obesity and type II diabetes. (en)
# Donner TW, Wilber JF, Ostrowski D: D-tagatose, a novel hexose: acute effects on carbohydrate tolerance in subjects with and without type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Obes Metab. 1999 Sep;1(5):285-91. "Pubmed":http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11225640 (en)
he steps in the metabolism of tagatose are identical to those for fructose or fruit sugar but tagatose is incompletely absorbed. Only 15-20 percent of tagatose is absorbed in the small intestine. The major part of ingested tagatose is fermented in the colon by indigenous microflora, resulting in the production of short-chain fatty acids. The short chain fatty acids are absorbed almost completely and metabolized. (en)