Tagatose is a functional sweetener. It is naturally occurring and often found in dairy products. Tagatose is similar in texture and sweetness to sucrose (table sugar) but with only 38% of the calories. It is approved for use as a food additive as a low-calorie sweetener. Only 15 - 20 % of Tagatose is absorbed in the small intestines and metabolized similarly to sucrose; the bulk of ingested tagatose is fermented in the colon by bacteria producing short chain fatty acids which are subsequently absorbed and metabolized by the body without affecting insulin levels. Tagatose is being investigated by Spherix for the treatment of obesity and type II diabetes. Tagatose consumed orally significantly blunts the rise in plasma glucose seen after oral glucose in patients with diabetes mellitus in a dose-dependent manner without significantly affecting insulin levels. It has been suggested that Tagatose may act by attenuating the absorption of glucose in the intestines.

Trehalose, a naturally occurring disaccharide of glucose that appears to function in an anhydrobiotic capacity in many organisms. Bioblast Pharma study trehalose in Phase 2 for treating patients with Oculopharyngeal Muscular Dystrophy (OPMD) and spinocerebellar ataxia, type 3. In OPMD trehalose prevents the aggregation of the pathological protein (PABPN1) in muscle cells, the hallmark of the disease, by stabilizing the protein, reducing the formation of protein aggregations, and promoting their clearance from cells through autophagy, thus preventing muscle cell death. Trehalose induces autophagy via mTOR independent pathway. It activates TFEB, a master controller of lysosomal biogenesis and autophagy, by inhibiting AKT which is a negative regulator of TFEB that acts by direct phosphorylation (and inhibition) of TFEB. In addition, trehalose protects cells from hypoxic and anoxic injury and suppresses protein aggregation. In vivo studies with trehalose show cellular and behavioral beneficial effects in animal models of neurodegenerative diseases. Trehalose was in phase III clinical trial to study if it was possible to use the drug as add-on therapy in Bipolar Depression. Also in combination with hyaluronate, it can be used to treat dry eye syndrome. Trehalose protects the epithelial cells on the ocular surface, improving their resistance to the daily stresses of dry environments and tear film changes in a dry eye.

Trehalose, a naturally occurring disaccharide of glucose that appears to function in an anhydrobiotic capacity in many organisms. Bioblast Pharma study trehalose in Phase 2 for treating patients with Oculopharyngeal Muscular Dystrophy (OPMD) and spinocerebellar ataxia, type 3. In OPMD trehalose prevents the aggregation of the pathological protein (PABPN1) in muscle cells, the hallmark of the disease, by stabilizing the protein, reducing the formation of protein aggregations, and promoting their clearance from cells through autophagy, thus preventing muscle cell death. Trehalose induces autophagy via mTOR independent pathway. It activates TFEB, a master controller of lysosomal biogenesis and autophagy, by inhibiting AKT which is a negative regulator of TFEB that acts by direct phosphorylation (and inhibition) of TFEB. In addition, trehalose protects cells from hypoxic and anoxic injury and suppresses protein aggregation. In vivo studies with trehalose show cellular and behavioral beneficial effects in animal models of neurodegenerative diseases. Trehalose was in phase III clinical trial to study if it was possible to use the drug as add-on therapy in Bipolar Depression. Also in combination with hyaluronate, it can be used to treat dry eye syndrome. Trehalose protects the epithelial cells on the ocular surface, improving their resistance to the daily stresses of dry environments and tear film changes in a dry eye.