The ability of the mixture of a-linked glucose oligomers in corn syrup to function as intrafiber components of paper is statistically assessed at the 95% confidence level for two degrees of refining (257 and 402 mL CSF) of never-dried commercial softwood and hardwood/softwood pulps. Independent of the extent of refining, the replacement of the beaten fibers by corn syrup at about the 6%, level does not result in a statistically significant deterioration (two-sided t-test, p = 0.05) of the ISO brightness or of the tensile, tear, burst or surface strength values of the resultant papers. The economic potential of such fiber replacement is discussed. As paper additives, the mixed alpha-oligomers (corn syrup), glucose and lactose perform in distinguishably. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.