Molasses, can of soda or sugar/water added to fertile soil (soil enriched with organic matter) will feed bacteria in the soil speeding up the process of decomposition.
Beneficial bacteria ingest the sugars and excrete broken down forms of the organic matter which create an environment that promotes new root growth and root formation.
The more root surface area in a medium the more nutrients can be absorbed, the more cation exchanges can take place (on a molecular level) between plant and soil, thus the healthier your plant will be. Basic botany. Hope this helps.