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Abstract Iany of txgricul tural by products like corn cobs, sugar cane b*usse, s t r a w and cotton seed hulls contain a high percentage of hemicellulose (xylans a r e the basic building blocks of hemicellulose) which is considered a s u i t a b l e mat e r i a l f o r the production of xylose which by hydrogenation produced x y l i t o l . Xylitol has gained a great economlc importance during the last few decades. Biochemical studies on xylitol clenrly pmved t h e advantages of its therapeutic and d i e t e t i c use. It is u non carcinogenic sugar alcohol and consequcnt ly an excellent preventative for carcinogenlc microorganism besides its value as a sweeting agent, being approximately as sweet as sucrose. It is metabolized without ins u l i n i n humans providing ready source of energy for diab e t i c s . Manufacture of x y l i t o l is carried out i n two phases. At f i r s t , xylose is produced through acid hydrolysis of a r a w material containing pentosan such as a g r i c u l t u r e waste, corn cobs and sugar cane bagasse. Then the produced xylose is separated and purified from other sugars like arabinose, glucose..... etc. In the second phase, xylose is reduced t o x y l i t o l by c a t a l y t i c hydrogenation. |