Definition of "mannitol" []

• A white, crystalline, water-soluble, slightly sweet alcohol, C6H8(OH)6, used as a dietary supplement and dietetic sweetener and in medical tests of renal function. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "And a few brands of pills may contain mannitol, an artificial sugar substitute, as an ingredient."
• "Over the course of two years, Collins and his colleagues administered antibiotics and a type of sugar called mannitol to mice with urinary-tract infections."
• "The technology, which combines human umbilical cord blood cells and a sugar-alcohol compound called mannitol, is expected to help in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease,"