Trehalose content in foods

The trehalose content in natural and fermented foods was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC). The samples were prepared by extraction from each food with 80% ethanol aqueous solution. For the GC analysis of sugar, an OV-17 packed column and a DB-5 capillary column were used. Trehalose was detected in relatively large quantity in mushrooms and baker's yeast. The trehalose content of dry solid materials ranged from 10% to 23% for mushrooms and from 7% to 11% for baker's yeast. Trehalose was also detected in alcoholic beverages (sake, beer and wine), mirin, bean products, shrimp, mozuku and hijiki. The trehalose content of each was 39 similar to 240 ppm, 260 ppm, 5 similar to 150 ppm, 5 similar to 5000 ppm, 4 ppm and 2700 ppm, respectively. Wakame, konbu and honey have also been reported to contain trehalose, however, it was not detected in those materials in this study.