D-(+)- Trealosa dihydrate

Trehalose is a non-reducing disaccharide, ubiquitously present in nature. It is used as a food preservative and also to retain enzymes, vaccines, cells and many other molecules. Trehalose is present as hemolymph sugar among the invertebrates.

D-(+)-Trehalose dihydrate has been used in a slow-freezing method for freezing rabbit oocytes. It has also been used in solid-surface vitrification (SSV) of in vitro-matured oocytes. It is suitable for use as a cryoprotectant in a variety of cell freezing media.

Trehalose is essential for embryogenesis, carbon metabolism, photosynthesis and flowering in plants. It predominantly exists among the species that supports anhydrobiosis (life without water). It serves as a carbohydrate reserve in microorganisms and protects them from adverse conditions, such as heat, cold, dehydration, desiccation and oxidation. Trehalose acts as a chemical chaperone affecting protein folding. It is known to prevent amyloid generation and accummulation of β-amyloid in vitro. A similar effect of trehalose has been observed with huntingtin protein aggregation. Thus, it might serve as a protective agent in Alzheimer′s disease and Huntington′s disease.