Organic substances which have been synthesized in lab are known to be many times sweeter than cane sugar. Such compounds are known as artificial sweetening agents or artificial sweeteners.
Some important artificial sweeteners are given below:( i) Saccharin( o-sulphobenzimide) Discovered by Johns- Hopkins in 1879( University of USA).
It is the most popular artificial sweetener. It is 550 times as sweet as cane Sugar, since it is insoluble in water, so it is sold in the market as its soluble or calcium salt.
It is non-biodegradable so excreted from the body in urine( unchanged). Its use is of great value for diabetic persons and people who need to control intake of calories.
( ii) Aspartame
It is the methyl ester of the dipeptide derived from phenylalanine aspartic acid. It is also known as“ Nutra sweet ‟.
It decomposes at baking or cooking temperatures and hence, can used only in cold food and soft drinks.
Aspartame has the same amount of calories as sugar( 4 cal per gram).
Aspartame should not be used by people suffering from the genetic disease known as PKU( phenyl ketone urea). Because in such people decomposition of aspartame gives phenylpyruvic acid. Accumulation ~ phenylpyruvic acid is harmful especially to infants due to brain damage and mental retardation.