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Review
. 2022 Oct 21;19(20):13684.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph192013684.

Maple Syrup: Chemical Analysis and Nutritional Profile, Health Impacts, Safety and Quality Control, and Food Industry Applications

Ariana Saraiva  1 , Conrado Carrascosa  1 , Fernando Ramos  2   3 , Dele Raheem  4 , Maria Lopes  2   3 , António Raposo  5
Affiliations
Review

Maple Syrup: Chemical Analysis and Nutritional Profile, Health Impacts, Safety and Quality Control, and Food Industry Applications

Ariana Saraiva et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Maple syrup is a delicacy prepared by boiling the sap taken from numerous Acer species, primarily sugar maple trees. Compared to other natural sweeteners, maple syrup is believed to be preferable to refined sugar for its high concentration of phenolic compounds and mineral content. The presence of organic acids (malic acid), amino acids and relevant amounts of minerals, such as potassium, calcium, zinc and manganese, make maple syrup unique. Given the growing demand for naturally derived sweeteners over the past decade, this review paper deals with and discusses in detail the most important aspects of chemical maple syrup analyses, with a particular emphasis on the advantages and disadvantages of the different analytical approaches. A successful utilization on the application of maple syrup in the food industry, will rely on a better understanding of its safety, quality control, nutritional profile, and health impacts, including its sustainability issues.

Keywords: chemical analysis; food industry; health impacts; maple syrup; nutrition.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Regions of maple syrup production in Canada and the USA according to the Maple Syrup Producers’ Association of Ontario [94].
Figure 2
Figure 2
A comparison of the two processing methods to produce maple syrup (Adapted from Ramadan et al. [56]).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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