Used as a sweetener in food and pharmaceutical products due to its low caloric content and non-cariogenic properties. Serves as a bulking agent in tablets and lozenges, improving texture and stability. Employed in microbiological media as a carbon source for cultivating specific fungi and bacteria. Acts as a chiral building block in organic synthesis for producing fine chemicals and pharmaceutical intermediates. Also utilized in the development of diagnostic assays for detecting fungal infections, as arabitol accumulates in serum during certain invasive mycoses.