Sorbitol is one of the 6 carbon sugar alcohols. It is commonly used as an artificial sweetener, as a laxative and in cosmetics as a humectant and thickening agent. Sorbitol is produced naturally in a variety of fruits. It can be produced in humans in small amounts by the reduction of glucose by aldose reductase. Due to its poor ability to diffuse across the cell membrane, sorbitol can be trapped in cells and is believed to be one of the causes of damage (due to osmotic effects) in diabetes. Interestingly, sorbitol can be used as a screen for the O154:H7 strain of E. coli, since this strain is one of the few strains which cannot metabolize sorbitol. BioVision's Sorbitol Colorimetric Assay Kit is designed to measure sorbitol in a variety of s