When food-grade strains of any of the aforementioned microorganisms are used, the mannitol and the organism itself are directly applicable to food products, avoiding the need for careful separation of microorganism and mannitol crystals. Although this is a promising method, steps are needed to scale it up to industrially needed quantities. Natural extraction
Since mannitol is found in a wide variety of natural products, including almost all plants, it can be directly extracted from natural products, rather than chemical or biological syntheses. In fact, in China, isolation from seaweed is the most common form of mannitol production. Mannitol concentrations of plant exudates can range from 20% in seaweeds to 90% in the plane tree. It is a constituent of saw palmetto (Serenoa).Traditionally, mannitol is extracted by the Soxhlet extraction, using ethanol, water, and methanol to steam and then hydrolysis of the crude material. The mannitol is then recrystallized from the extract, generally resulting in yields of about 18% of the original natural product. Another method of extraction is using supercritical and subcritical fluids. These fluids are at such a stage that no difference exists between the liquid and gas stages, so are more diffusive than normal fluids. This is considered to make them much more effective mass transfer agents than normal liquids. The super- or subcritical fluid is pumped through the natural product, and the mostly mannitol product is easily separated from the solvent and minute amount of byproduct.
Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction of olive leaves has been shown to require less solvent per measure of leaf than a traditional extraction – 141.7 g (5.00 oz) CO2 versus 194.4 g (6.86 oz) ethanol per 1 g (0.035 oz) olive leaf. Heated, pressurized, subcritical water is even cheaper, and is shown to have dramatically greater results than traditional extraction. It requires only 4.01 g (0.141 oz) water per 1 g (0.035 oz) of olive leaf, and gives a yield of 76.75% mannitol. Both super- and subcritical extractions are cheaper, faster, purer, and more environmentally friendly than the traditional extraction. However, the required high operating temperatures and pressures are causes for hesitancy in the industrial use of this technique. History
Julije Domac elucidated the structure of hexene and mannitol obtained from Caspian manna. He determined the place of the double bond in hexene obtained from mannitol and proved that it is a derivative of a normal hexene. This also solved the structure of mannitol, which was unknown until then. Controversy
The three studies that initially found that high-dose mannitol was effective in cases of severe head injury were the subject of an investigation published in 2007. Although several authors are listed with Dr. Julio Cruz, it is unclear whether the authors had knowledge of how the patients were recruited. Further, the Federal University of São Paulo, which Cruz gave as his affiliation, has never employed him.