Abstract

Many of the available sweeteners that generate fewer calories than sugar do not have all the advantages of sugar. The six commercially available nonnutritive sweeteners are aspartame, acesulfame-K, sucralose, saccharin, cyclamate, and neotame. The sweetness potency, taste profile, chemical and physical properties, as well as synthesis and usage profiles of these compounds are reviewed. Important decomposition products are discussed. Discussions of bulking agents, sweetness enhancers–inducers, sweetness inhibitors, and sweet-taste transduction mechanisms are presented. Some sweeteners are most likely to be used only as flavor modifiers. A list of lesser known sweeteners is included.