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Low Calorie Intense Sweeteners: Safety Aspects

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Sweeteners

Part of the book series: Reference Series in Phytochemistry ((RSP))

Abstract

The safety of low calorie sweeteners (LCS) is always the subject of question. Artificial sweeteners or intense sweeteners are sugar substitutes that are utilized as a different option for common sugar. They are commonly sweeter than normal sugar and as they contain no calories, they can be utilized aptly to control weight and obesity. Because of this, they are presently utilized by a large number of individuals worldwide without knowing their potential hazards on the body. Broad investigative exploration has shown the safety of the six low-calorie sweeteners at present endorsed for use in foods in the U.S and Europe (stevia, acesulfame-K, aspartame, neotame, saccharin and sucralose) each with a satisfactory status. This chapter means to cover the health concerns, highlighting dangers of consuming artificial sweetener. Artificial sweeteners are added in food, beverages, medications and hygiene items. The principle explanation behind their overall use is that they don’t raise blood glucose levels, used to control weight and to treat hypoglycemia. Apart from these advantages, artificial sweetener can affect the body in several ways for instance leukemia, lymphoma and others which is supported by researches. Use of artificial sweeteners also contributes in obesity as well as in diabetes mellitus type 2. To control the above mentioned complications usage of artificial sweetener must be implied to certain limitation and use of natural sweeteners must be encouraged.

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Abbreviations

Ace-K:

Asculfame potassium

ADI:

Acceptable daily intake

AS:

Artificial sweetener

ATP:

Adenosine tri phosphate

DNA:

Deoxy Ribo Nucleic acid

E-Number:

European number

EU:

European Union

FDA:

Food and Drug Administration

JECFA:

Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives

LCS:

Low calorie sweetener

MUD:

Maximum usable dose

NNs:

Non Nutritional sweeteners

NOAEL:

No observed adverse effect level

pKa:

Acid dissociation constant

PKU:

Phenyl ketone urea

SCF:

Scientific committee on food

US:

United States

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shalamar Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan

    Qurrat ul-Ain

  2. University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan

    Madiha Sikander

  3. Civil Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan

    Sohaib Ahmed Khan

  4. Riphah International University, Lahore campus, Lahore, Pakistan

    Muhammad Sikander Ghayas Khan

  5. Arif Memorial Teaching Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan

    Rabia Ghayas

  6. Dow Medical College DUHS, Civil Hospital Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan

    Qurrat ul-Ain

Authors
  1. Qurrat ul-Ain
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  2. Madiha Sikander
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  3. Sohaib Ahmed Khan
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  4. Muhammad Sikander Ghayas Khan
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  5. Rabia Ghayas
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Qurrat ul-Ain .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France

    Jean-Michel Mérillon

  2. Botany Department, M.L. Sukhadia University, Udaipur, India

    Kishan Gopal Ramawat

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© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG

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ul-Ain, Q., Sikander, M., Khan, S.A., Khan, M.S.G., Ghayas, R. (2018). Low Calorie Intense Sweeteners: Safety Aspects. In: Mérillon, JM., Ramawat, K. (eds) Sweeteners. Reference Series in Phytochemistry. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27027-2_28

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