**8. Lactic acid bacteria as source of low-calorie sweeteners**

Recently, low calorie sugars produced from LAB have attracted the interest of researchers, industries and consumers, since they can find application as vital food ingredients mainly in foods marketed as "diabetic foods", like sugar-free candies, cookies and chewing gums [165,166]. Manitol, sorbitol, xylitol, tagatose and thehalose are sweeteners produced by LAB. These substances are polyols, i.e. sugar alcohols and can be produced in food fermentation processes. They can be incorporated directly to foods or be produced in the food by LAB, leading to the production of foods containing such sweeteners [165]. *Leuconostoc* and *Lactobacillus spp*. seem to be the most promising producers of these sweeteners [167,168].

A number of health benefits have been attributed to these LAB produced low calories sweeteners, like low glycemic index, osmotic diuretics, weight control, antiplaque, prebiotic. These GRAS substances could be used especially by children, diabetic patients and weight watchers [165,166].
