ASD Libraries: G08: Sciences Synthetic Materials: Artificial Sweetner

Chemical Composition of various Sweetners

Neotame
Neotame is a dipeptide composed of N-(3,3-dimethylbutyl)-L-aspartic acid and methyl L-phenylalanate units joined by a peptide linkage. It has a role as an environmental contaminant, a xenobiotic and a sweetening agent.
Acesulfame potassium
ACESULFAME POTASSIUM is a small molecule drug with a maximum clinical trial phase of III and has 1 investigational indication.
Aspartame
Aspartame is a dipeptide obtained by formal condensation of the alpha-carboxy group of L-aspartic acid with the amino group of methyl L-phenylalaninate. Commonly used as an artificial sweetener. It has a role as a sweetening agent, a nutraceutical, a micronutrient, a xenobiotic, an environmental contaminant, an apoptosis inhibitor and an EC 3.1.3.1 (alkaline phosphatase) inhibitor. It is a dipeptide, a carboxylic acid and a methyl ester. It is functionally related to a L-aspartic acid and a methyl L-phenylalaninate. It is a tautomer of an aspartame zwitterion.
Advantame
NON-NUTRITIVE SWEETENER -> FDA Substance added to food
Saccharin
Saccharin (manufacturing) appears as white crystals. Odorless or faintly aromatic odor. Sweet taste. (NTP, 1992)
Sucralose
Sucralose is a disaccharide derivative consisting of 4-chloro-4-deoxy-alpha-D-galactopyranose and 1,6-dichloro-1,6-dideoxy-beta-D-fructofuranose units linked by a glycosidic bond. It has a role as an environmental contaminant, a xenobiotic and a sweetening agent. It is a disaccharide derivative and an organochlorine compound.

The Skinny on Sweeteners
According to the U.s. department of agriculture, Americans consume an average of 156 pounds of sugar each year. that’s a little more than 31 of the five-pound bags you might see in the baking goods aisle in the grocery store! we all know that eating too much sugar can cause tooth decay, weight gain, and type-2 diabetes, but is there a way to indulge your sweet tooth and still avoid sugar? yes. food and beverages labeled “diet” taste sweet yet don’t contain sugar—thanks to artificial sweeteners. why do artificial sweeteners have no calories? could they be bad for your health? let’s compare the chemistry of sugar and artificial sweeteners to find out.

The Chemistry of Artificial Sweeteners
In the past year, shares of Tate & Lyle, one of the world's largest manufacturers of sweeteners, have nearly doubled in price. And sugar has had nothing to do with it. The company sold its stake in Domino Sugar four years ago, then came up with something much more profitable: sucralose, also known as Splenda.

Artificial Sweeteners
No one knows why humans evolved with the ability to detect sweetness. Perhaps it enabled us to recognize fruits that were ripe and therefore
richer in useful carbohydrates. Because sweetness is often linked to high calorie foods, a sweet tooth could be useful in a primitive world

Real or fake sugar: Does it matter?
Full disclosure: A lot of journalists at CNN drink diet soda. So when we saw a new study suggesting that artificially sweetened beverages are just as bad for you as sugar-sweetened drinks, we, and our readers, bubbled over with questions. Are artificial sweeteners used in soft drinks and foods safe? Will they make us fat? How much is too much?

Sugarcane and the environment
Sugarcane is a water-intensive crop that remains in the soil all year long. As one of the world’s thirstiest crops, sugarcane has a significant impact on many environmentally sensitive regions, like the Mekong Delta and the Atlantic Forest. Historic planting of sugarcane around the world has led to significant impacts on biodiversity.

Artificial Sweetener persists in the environment
Sucralose, the sugar substitute better known to Canadians and Americans as Splenda, hit Norwegian food markets in 2005. A year later, scientists from the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU) found the chemical to be omnipresent in the environment—in Oslo Fjord and in raw and treated wastewater.

Sugar vs. Artificial Sweeteners
The production of sugar has indeed taken a huge environmental toll. “Sugar has arguably had as great an impact on the environment as any other agricultural commodity,” reports the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), citing biodiversity loss as a result of the “wholesale conversion of habitat on tropical islands and on coastal areas” to grow sugar. WWF adds that the cultivation of sugar has also resulted in considerable soil erosion and degradation and the use of large amounts of chemicals across the tropics and beyond.