TREHALOSE POWDER (enduracarb™)

Trehalose – Peri-workout energy

Trehalose powder (enduracarb™) from RawSeries is 100% pure trehalose (no additives, no fillers).

Trehalose is a simple disaccharide made up of two glucose molecules, but with a very different functional behavior compared to other sugars. Its unique molecular structure gives it a gradual absorption profile, with a lower glycemic index than sucrose, which translates into a more sustained energy release over time. This makes it an ideal carbohydrate source to use anytime around your training: before, during, or after physical exercise. Plus, it stands out for its neutral taste, excellent solubility, and stability, making it easy to use in sports nutrition as well as in homemade isotonic drinks, bars, and gels.

A different way to fuel up with maximum versatility, designed for performance.

Simple carbohydrate, but with a unique behavior

What makes trehalose special?

This is because trehalose needs to be hydrolyzed by the enzyme trehalase in the small intestine before releasing its glucose units, which delays its absorption and prevents rapid and sharp blood sugar spikes. This profile has been leveraged in sports nutrition, as it allows:

Unlike dextrose, which quickly enters the bloodstream, trehalose maintains more stable release levels, making it a more efficient energy source for prolonged efforts or athletes already using sugars with a more traditional behavior in their sports drinks.

Comparison with other sugars in sports nutrition

Trehalose is a unique sugar not only because of its composition but also because of its behavior, which sets it apart from other common energy sources in sports. To give you perspective compared to other frequent carbohydrates you can also buy at HSN and probably know:

Trehalose vs Dextrose

Dextrose (glucose) is the simplest form of a carbohydrate, absorbed directly in the intestine without enzymatic digestion. Its absorption speed is extremely high. In contrast, trehalose needs to be broken down into two glucose molecules by the enzyme trehalase, which significantly slows its absorption rate. This difference makes trehalose a more stable and gentler option for the digestive system, especially useful during prolonged efforts or peri-workout protocols where significant amounts of glucose are already consumed.

Trehalose vs Maltodextrin

Maltodextrin is a complex carbohydrate made of longer chains of glucose. Although structurally more complex than trehalose, its digestion is extremely fast due to the easy hydrolysis of its glycosidic bonds. In fact, it is considered a high glycemic index carbohydrate, generating glycemic responses similar to or even higher than dextrose. On the other hand, trehalose, although a disaccharide, has a slower and more controlled glucose release thanks to its need for specific enzymatic digestion. This allows for a more sustained energy delivery. Practically speaking, trehalose has the same application whether maltodextrin or dextrose is used in a sports drink.

Trehalose vs Fructose

Fructose is a monosaccharide with a very different metabolism from glucose: it is absorbed via facilitated transport (GLUT5) and metabolized almost exclusively in the liver. It is recommended to use it in smaller proportions than glucose and is especially useful during exercise. Trehalose doesn’t compete with fructose, it complements it.

Trehalose vs Isomaltulose

Isomaltulose (glucose + fructose) is a slow-digesting disaccharide widely used in sports nutrition for its low glycemic index and good digestive tolerance, as well as being a source of fructose. Trehalose shares this moderate digestion characteristic but has the advantage of being made of two glucoses, making it ideal as a 'glucose isomaltulose'.

Enduracarb™ technology – Japanese quality, international performance

The trehalose we use at HSN comes from enduracarb™, a patent developed by Nagase Viita, one of the leading Japanese companies in research and production of high-quality functional ingredients. This trehalose is produced through an enzymatic process from plant starch, without using chemical solvents, ensuring a high-purity product.

An ingredient with solid backing, designed to maximize your performance.

Pure energy source, 100% RAW, no additives

Our Trehalose powder (enduracarb™) belongs to HSN’s RawSeries range, a line dedicated to offering products in their purest form, without additives, fillers, or any kind of extras, so you can fully control your nutrition strategy.

This product contains only trehalose, with no technological agents or additives of any kind. Its neutral powder format makes it easy to combine with other products like Evolytes, essential amino acids, creatine, PeptoPro®, and other carbohydrates.

Thanks to this, you can precisely adjust the dose according to your needs, with total freedom to tweak flavors or prepare your own sports blends with our sports drink flavorings. Also, being a naturally allergen-free and plant-based sugar, it’s compatible with vegan diets and food intolerances.

A sugar with a moderate glycemic index

Although trehalose is a disaccharide made exclusively of glucose, its metabolic behavior is very different from conventional simple sugars like dextrose. The key lies in its unique molecular structure, where two glucose units are linked by an α,α-1,1 bond, which delays its hydrolysis in the small intestine and therefore its absorption.

This more stable glycemic response makes it an optimal alternative for sports strategies where constant energy is needed and adding more fast carbs isn’t an option.

Trehalose: a carbohydrate designed for sustained performance.

Ideal for sports drinks: Neutral, highly soluble, and versatile

Trehalose powder (enduracarb™) stands out not only for its functional profile as an energy source but also for its excellent behavior in sports drinks. Its neutral and mildly sweet taste makes it an ideal carbohydrate to mix with other compounds without being too cloying.

Also, it has very good solubility in cold or lukewarm water, allowing direct use in isotonic solutions, shakes, pre-workouts, or post-workout formulas without needing to heat the solution, making it easy to use in real training conditions, even outdoors or during long sessions.

How to make the most of trehalose?

Glycogen recovery and muscle function after exercise

Trehalose is an excellent option as a recovery carbohydrate after demanding workouts, especially in endurance disciplines, high-intensity sessions, or routines with high muscle workload.

Its digestibility profile and ability to release glucose gradually make it a suitable ingredient to rebuild muscle glycogen stores after exercise, without causing gastrointestinal discomfort even in sensitive individuals.

Physical performance in intense and prolonged training

Trehalose is especially useful when the goal is to maintain performance during long sessions or high-intensity efforts. In fact, it’s a carbohydrate mainly designed to combine with other glucose and fructose sources for use in intra-workout drinks or gels.

Combine it with fructose and electrolytes to prepare your isotonic

Thanks to its balanced profile, mild taste, and excellent solubility, trehalose (enduracarb™) is an ideal companion for designing sports drinks that provide energy and rehydrate during exercise.

To get a complete functional drink, you can combine it with:

•  Maltodextrin.
•  Fructose.
•  Electrolytes.
•  BCAA's.

References

•  Hamada, N., Wadazumi, T., Hirata, Y., Kuriyama, M., Watanabe, K., Watanabe, H., … Arai, N. (2021). Single ingestion of trehalose enhances prolonged exercise performance by effective use of glucose and lipid in healthy men. Nutrients, 13(5).
•  Wadazumi, T., Watanabe, K., Watanabe, H., Yokoyama, H., Hongu, N., & Arai, N. (2019). Effects of a single ingestion of trehalose during prolonged exercise. Sports, 7(5).
•  Chen, A., & Gibney, P. A. (2023). Dietary Trehalose as a Bioactive Nutrient. Nutrients, 15(6).
•  de Oliveira, N. G., de Oliveira, L. F., da Silva, R. P., Oliveira, T. N., Möller, G. B., Murasaki, J., … Saunders, B. (2024). Trehalose Improved 20-min Cycling Time-Trial Performance After 100-min Cycling in Amateur Cyclists. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 34(4), 199–206.
•  Hamada, N., Wadazumi, T., Hirata, Y., Watanabe, H., Hongu, N., & Arai, N. (2022). Effects of Trehalose Solutions at Different Concentrations on High-Intensity Intermittent Exercise Performance. Nutrients, 14(9).

¹ The beneficial effect is obtained by consuming carbohydrates from all sources in a total intake of 4 g per kg of body weight, in doses taken before four hours (or at most six) have passed after finishing intense or prolonged physical exercise leading to muscle fatigue and depletion of glycogen stored in skeletal muscles.

² To get this benefit, it is necessary to prepare a carbohydrate solution providing between 30 and 90 g of carbohydrates per hour, under the following conditions: a) fructose should not represent more than one-third of the total carbohydrates, and b) glucose should not exceed 60 g/h. Only trained adults performing high-intensity (at least 65% VO₂max) and long-duration (at least 60 min) physical exercise obtain the beneficial effect.