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Maple syrup

Acer saccharum

Also known as maple syrup, pure maple syrup, sirop d’érable

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Sap from sugar maple and related species boiled down roughly forty-fold until it is about two-thirds sugar, predominantly sucrose. Grade names such as golden, amber and dark describe colour and flavour intensity, not nutritional differences.

Blood Sugar & Metabolic HealthAntioxidant & Oxidative Stress

Potential health benefits

Best supported: Insufficient

Ordered by how well the human research supports them — strongest first. A rating describes the state of the evidence, not how impressive the food is. How we rate evidence.

Blood glucose response

Blood Sugar & Metabolic Health
Insufficient evidence

Maple syrup is often marketed as a gentler sweetener for blood sugar than table sugar. It is predominantly sucrose, human evidence for a meaningful difference in glycaemic response is minimal, and what exists uses small samples and single meals.

Insufficient evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

2 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Oxidative stress markers

Antioxidant & Oxidative Stress
Insufficient evidence

Maple syrup contains phenolic compounds, several of them unusual, which has generated laboratory interest. The quantities consumed are tiny relative to the sugar delivered alongside them, and human studies of any oxidative endpoint are absent.

Insufficient evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

1 source

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Ask about Maple syrup

Ask about Maple syrup

Answers are written only from the entries on this page — the same nutrients, compounds, claims and citations you can read above. Nothing is added from outside the database, and every answer lists what it was built from.

AI explanations are not switched on for this site, so there is nothing to ask here. Everything above is read straight from the database and does not need them.

Key nutrients

Nutrient content per 100 grams
NutrientAmount% DV
Macronutrients
Calories260 kcal13%
Protein0.04 g0%
Total fat0.06 g0%
Carbohydrate67 g24%
Fibre0 g0%
Total sugars60.5 g—
Water32.4 g—
Fats
Saturated fat0.0070 g0%
Monounsaturated fat0.011 g—
Polyunsaturated fat0.017 g—
Cholesterol0 mg0%
EPA (omega-3)0 g—
DHA (omega-3)0 g—
DPA (omega-3)0 g—
Linoleic acid (omega-6)0.017 g—
Vitamins
Vitamin A0 µg0%
Vitamin C0 mg0%
Vitamin D0 µg0%
Vitamin E0 mg0%
Vitamin K0 µg0%
Thiamin (B1)0.066 mg6%
Riboflavin (B2)1.27 mg98%
Niacin (B3)0.081 mg1%
Pantothenic acid (B5)0.036 mg1%
Vitamin B60.0020 mg0%
Folate0 µg0%
Vitamin B120 µg0%
Choline1.6 mg0%
Minerals
Calcium102 mg8%
Iron0.11 mg1%
Magnesium21 mg5%
Phosphorus2 mg0%
Potassium212 mg5%
Sodium12 mg1%
Zinc1.47 mg13%
Copper0.018 mg2%
Manganese2.91 mg126%
Selenium0.6 µg1%
Other measured compounds
Beta-carotene0 µg—
Alpha-carotene0 µg—
Lycopene0 µg—
Lutein + zeaxanthin0 µg—
Caffeine0 mg—
Ash0.47 g—

Nutrient values are per 100 g of the USDA reference entry named on this page and vary with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

Source record: Syrups, maple (USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 169661).

% DV uses the FDA Daily Values for adults and children aged 4 and over. A dash means no Daily Value has been established for that nutrient.

Bioactive compounds

Compounds present in meaningful amounts. Presence is banded rather than quantified, because whole-food levels vary enormously with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

How preparation changes things

Only effects with real support are listed. If a preparation method is missing, it is because nothing dependable is documented — not because it makes no difference.

Nothing dependable is recorded about how preparation changes this food’s nutritional properties. Rather than guess, this section stays empty.

Things to know

Allergies, interactions and intake concerns. Every food gets this section — a reference where everything is uniformly good is not a reference.

  • Too much

    Concentrated sugar with a natural label

    Maple syrup is around two-thirds sugar by weight and counts as free sugar in dietary guidance. Its manganese content and phenolic compounds are sometimes used to market it as a health food, which the sugar content does not support.

  • Worth knowing

    Pancake syrup is usually not maple syrup

    Most bottled "pancake" or "table" syrup is corn syrup with flavouring and colour, containing little or no maple sap. The distinction is a labelling one worth reading for.

  • Worth knowing

    Lead from older production equipment

    Lead has historically leached into syrup from soldered tapping and evaporating equipment, which is why modern producers are required to use lead-free equipment and syrup is monitored. Home or informal production with old gear is the residual risk.