Low Calorie Nonnutritive Sweeteners - Sweeteners: Nutritional Aspects, Applications, and Production Technology - page 80

4.1 INtrODUCtION

Sweetenersaredeinedasfoodadditivesthatareusedtoprovideasweettastetofoodorasa
tabletop sweetener. Tabletop sweeteners are products that include any permitted sweeteners and
areintendedforuseasanalternativetosugar.Foodswithsweeteningproperties,suchassugarand
honey, are not additives and are excluded from the scope of oficial regulations. Sweeteners are
classiiedaseitherhighintensityorbulk.High-intensitysweetenerspossessasweettaste,butare
noncaloric,provideessentiallynobulktofood,havegreatersweetnessthansugar,andaretherefore
usedatverylowlevels.Ontheotherhand,bulksweetenersaregenerallycarbohydrates,providing
energy(calories)andbulktofood.Thesehaveasimilarsweetnesstosugarandareusedatcompa-
rablelevels.High-intensitysweetenersareclassiiedassyntheticartiicial[i.e.,acesulfame,alitame,
aspartame (ASP), cyclamate, neotame (NTM), saccharin, and sucralose], semisynthetic [neohes-
peridindihydrochalcone(NHDC)],andnatural(stevioside,traumatin,andglycyrrhizin).

4.1.1 high-Intensity Sweeteners

High-intensitysweeteners(alsocallednonnutritivesweeteners)canofferconsumersawayto
enjoythetasteofsweetnesswithverylowornoenergyintake,andtheyhavetheadvantagethat
theydonotprovidegrowthoforalcavitymicroorganisms.Therefore,theyareprincipallyaimedat
consumersinfourareasoffoodandbeveragemarkets:treatmentofobesity,maintenanceofbody
weight,managementofdiabetes,andpreventionandreductionofdentalcaries.Mostavailablehigh-
intensitysweetenersand/ortheirmetabolitesarerapidlyabsorbedinthegastrointestinaltract.For
example,acesulfame-K(ACS-K)andsaccharinarenotmetabolizedandareexcretedunchangedby
thekidney.Sucralose,stevioside,andcyclamateundergodegreesofmetabolism,andtheirmetabo-
litesarereadilyexcreted.
Acesulfame-K(ACS-K),ASP,andsaccharinarepermittedasintensesweetenersforuseinfood
virtuallyworldwide.Inordertodecreasecostandimprovetastequality,high-intensitysweeteners
areoftenusedasmixturesofdifferent,synergisticallycompatiblesweeteners.Sweetnesscharacter-
isticsofhigh-intensitysweetenersareshowninTable4.1.
Theapprovalsofnew-generationsweetenerslikeACS-Karetoorecenttoestablishanyepi-
demiologicalevidenceaboutpossiblecarcinogenicrisks(WeihrauchandDiehl2004).Following

table 4.1 Sweetness Characteristics of high-Intensity Sweeteners (Scale Uses Sucrose as

Sweetness of 1 and Compares Sweetness of Other Sweeteners to Sucrose)

Sweetener relative Sweetness (Sucrose = 1) aftertaste

Acesulfame-K 150-200 Very slight bitter

Alitame Not unpleasant

Aspartame 160-220 Prolonged sweetness

Aspartame-acesulfame salt 350 -

Cyclamate 30-40 Prolonged sweetness. At high

concentrations, a distinct sweet-sour
lingering

Glycyrrhizin 50-100 Prolonged sweetness (licorice)

Neohesperidin dihydrochalcone 1000-2000 Lingering menthol-licorice

Neotame 7000-13,000 Not unpleasant

Saccharin 300-600 Bitter metallic

Stevioside 250-300 Bitter and unpleasant

Sucralose 400-800 Not unpleasant

Thaumatin 2000 Licorice

Source: Yebra-Biurrun, M. C., Food Add. Contam ., 17, 9, 733-738, 2000.