Artificial Sweetening Agents

What are Artificial Sweeteners?

Sweetening Agent

An artificial sweetener or a sweetening agent is a sugar substitute, known as a food additive, which provides you with a sweet taste similar to that of sugar. However, it contains significantly less food energy as compared to sugar-based sweeteners, which makes it a zero-calorie or a low-calorie sweetener. Artificial sweeteners can be derived through different plant extracts or when they are processed by chemical synthesis. Artificial sweeteners are many times sweeter when compared to regular sugar and hence they are also sometimes known as intense sweeteners. 

Artificial sweeteners are amongst the most attractive substitutes for sugar since they do not add too many calories to your diet. They can also be used directly in many processed foods such as dairy products, puddings, candy, baked goods, jams, soft drinks, and several other beverages and food items. They can also be used once they are mixed with starch-based sweeteners.

Mentioned below are sweetening agents examples:

The most common artificial sweetening agents are saccharin, aspartame, neotame, cyclamates, acesulfame K, stevia and sucralose approved by FDA (Food and Drugs Association).

Sucrose: Sucrose is made up of one molecule of glucose and one molecule of fructose joined together. It is a disaccharide, a molecule composed of two monosaccharides: glucose and fructose. Sucrose is produced naturally in plants, from which table sugar is refined. It has the molecular formula C12H22O11.

Saccharin: Saccharin is an artificial sweetener with effectively no food energy. It is about 300 to 400 times as sweet as sucrose but has a bitter or metallic aftertaste.

Cyclamates: Sodium cyclamate is an artificial sweetener. It is almost 30 to 50 times sweeter than sucrose, making it the least potent of the commercially used artificial sweeteners.

Neotame: Neotame, also known by the commercial name Newtame, is a non-caloric artificial sweetener and aspartame analogue by NutraSweet.

Aspartame: Aspartame is an artificial non-saccharide sweetener many times sweeter than sucrose, and is commonly used as a sugar substitute in foods and beverages.

Acesulfame K: Acesulfame potassium, also known as acesulfame K (K is the symbol for potassium) or Ace K, is synthetic calorie-free.

Stevia: Stevia is a natural sweetener and sugar substitute taken from the leaves of the plant species Stevia rebaudiana, native to Brazil. 

Sucralose: Sucralose is an artificial sweetener and greater sugar substitute. The majority of ingested sucralose is not broken down by the body, so it is noncaloric in nature. 

These are processed and used to make,

Honey, dates, coconut sugar, maple syrup, molasses, xerophile nectar, etc.

Types of sweetening agents

1. Artificial sweetener 
2. Natural sweetener

• Artificial sweeteners: which can be additionally referred to as sugar substitutes, alternative sweeteners, or non-sugar sweeteners, are substances used to replace sugar in food and beverages. They can be divided into two large groups: nutritive sweetness, which is of some energy value to food; and non-nutritive sweeteners, so-called high-intensity sweeteners because they are used in very small quantities, adding no energy value to food.

Artificial sweeteners are covered in these two types: 

• Nutritive sweeteners: Nutritive sweeteners are otherwise called carbohydrate sweeteners (caloric). These sweeteners give high-quality sweet taste and have an acceptable texture and shape and hence remain as the most popular sweetener. Example for nutritive sweeteners are:

Monosaccharide polyols:

Monosaccharide alcohol is the general term for the chain-like polyalcohol obtained by reducing the carboxyl group of sugars.

Sorbitol:

Sorbitol occurs naturally in cherries, plums, apples, many berries, seaweeds and algae. It is moderately sweet, relatively inexpensive and has less shelf life because of its hygroscopic properties.

• Non-nutritive sweeteners: These are low-calorie sweeteners (referred to as non-nutritive sweeteners, artificial sweeteners or sugar calories) added to foods,, medicinal preparation, dentifrices, mouthwash, beverages etc. to provide sweetness without adding a calorie. The non-caloric sweeteners are generally much sweeter than sucrose and can, therefore, be used in small amounts.
• Natural sweeteners: exists or are produced by nature, without added chemicals and fancy machinery. The only sugars that are optimal to eat are wild, non hybridized, seeded fruits, and the natural sugars and starches in vegetables, trees, seeds, nuts and rocks. Natural sweeteners add to more nutritional value so they are known as nutritive sweeteners.

Nearly all types of sweetening agents fall into these 6 categories. A few such as Inulin could be considered as sugar fibers, but they could also fall under the sugar heading. 

1. Sugars: These are carbohydrates and contain 4 calories per gram. They are found naturally in many foods including fruit, vegetables, cereals and milk. They can be harmful to teeth and tend to have a high glycemic index. The most common are, Sucrose, Glucose, Dextrose, Fructose, Lactose, Maltose, Galactose and Trehalose.
2. Natural Caloric Sweeteners: These are the oldest known sweeteners and include honey and maple syrup. They contain sugar and also other nutritive qualities. They tend to have a somewhat lower glycemic index than sugar, but still, need to be taken in moderation as they can be detrimental to health in large quantities. They can also be harmful to teeth. They include Honey, Maple Syrup, Coconut Palm Sugar and molasses.
3. Natural Zero Calorie Sweeteners: These are not carbohydrates and contain little or no calories. It is only in recent years that these are used as a better alternative to artificial sweeteners. They have zero glycemic indexes and may cause harm to teeth. Like artificial sweeteners, they can have an aftertaste. They include: Luo Han Guo, Stevia, Thaumatin, Pentadin, Monellin, Brazzein.
4. Modified Sugars: These are typically sugars produced by converting starch using enzymes. The list also includes sugars that have been modified such as caramel or golden syrup. They tend to have a high glycemic index and can be harmful to teeth. They are often used in cooking or in processed foods. A few are high Fructose Corn Syrup, Refiners Syrup, Caramel, Inverted Sugar, Golden Syrup.
5. Artificial Sweetening Agents: They have been in use in America and Europe for over 120 years. They have zero glycemic indexes and may be harmless to teeth. The most common examples are Aspartame, Sucralose, Saccharin, Neotame and Sodium Cyclamate.

Conclusion 

Many of these artificial sweetening agents are so sweet to an extent that either dextrose or maltodextrin is added to these sweeteners for reducing the intense sweetness. These sweetening agents, however, are usually obtained from synthetic sugar substitutes. They have also formed from natural substances such as herbs or just the sugar itself.

Requirements for an ideal artificial sweetener: 

• It should provide sweetness with no unpleasant aftertaste.

• It should not contain any calories.

• More economical in productivity.

• Should be resistant to heat when cooked.

• It should not be carcinogenic (causing cancer) or mutagenic (change in genetic material in organism)