In today's society, the number of people suffering from diseases such as metabolic disorders, obesity and diabetes is increasing, all of which are directly related to the consumption of sugar. As a result, consumers and food manufacturers became interested in non-nutritive sweeteners to replace sucrose in foods, enhancing flavor while reducing calories and the risk of disease. Sweeteners are low energy value substances that can mimic the effect of sugar on taste. In addition to being sweet, a compound must have many physical properties associated with it in order to be considered a good sweetener for human use. Firstly, the compound should have no off-tastes. Secondly, the compound must be safe and stable under the conditions of use. Lastly and most importantly, the compound should be sweeter than sugar to offset the cost of synthesis. Once their use was mainly limited to diet soft drinks, but now they are also found in grain products including bread and cereal, dairy products including sugar-free yoghurt, sugar-free ice cream, and flavored milk. In addition to low-calorie grains and dairy products, they are also added to a variety of condiments, including low-sugar ketchup, sugar-free jam, and are found in medicines, multivitamins and hygiene products.
Classification
The sweetness of different sweeteners varies. They are divided into two categories according to their relative sweetness compared to sucrose, namely intense sweeteners and bulk sweeteners.
Intensive sweeteners are those that present a high sweetening power, higher than sucrose, thus only being necessary in very low doses to obtain intense sweetness. Some also call them artificial sweeteners to emphasize the fact that most of them are chemically synthesized. They do not contribute significantly to calories. They have no function in food other than to add sweetness. A number of intense sweeteners have been widely used in processed foods, including baked goods, carbonated beverages, confectionery, puddings, canned foods, etc. Of these, acesulfame, aspartame, cyclamate, saccharin, and sucralose are the most common intense sweeteners.
Bulk sweeteners are substances that are slightly less sweetness than sucrose or comparable to sucrose. They are used in the food industry both as sweeteners and as bulking agents. They can be metabolized by the body and provide calories. Bulk sweeteners are allowed to be used in a variety of foods, including desserts, ice cream, jams, breakfast cereals, marmalades and more. The most popular bulk sweeteners are erythritol, sorbitol, xylitol, isomalt, lactitol and maltitol.
Table 1. Difference of sweetness among different molecules, calculated based on the assumption that sucrose is equivalent to 1 unit of sweetness.
| Sweetener | Sweetening power |
|---|
| Intense sweeteners | Sucralose | 400-800 |
| Saccharin | 240-300 |
| Acesulfame | 150-200 |
| Aspartame | 200 |
| Cyclamate | 30-80 |
| Bulk sweeteners | Xylitol | 1 |
| Maltitol | 0.75 |
| Erythritol | 0.7 |
| Sorbitol | 0.6 |
| Isomalt | 0.55 |
| Lactitol | 0.35 |
Considerations for choosing sweeteners
When selecting sweeteners for a product, considerations include, but are not limited to the following.
- Sweetening power: Each sweetener has a different sweetening power and therefore the appropriate sweetener needs to be selected for different products. For example, many pharmaceutical active substances have a long-lasting bitterness profile. To maintain palatability, a high sweetness sweetener is needed to provide a lingering sweetness.
- Chemical stability: Artificially manufactured sweeteners usually exhibit good solid-state stability, but it may also be unstable in some respects. For example, aspartame is stable to low acidic and alkaline conditions but it is unstable to heat. Acesulfame, meanwhile, is highly stable when exposed to heat, which makes it a versatile sweetener with the potential to be used in a variety of foods and beverages.
What we offer
Alfa Chemistry provides customers with a wide range of sweeteners. If you do not find what you need, please contact us. We also offer product customization according to customer's detailed requirements.
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.
