*2.3.7 Alitame*

Alitame of molecular formula C14H25N3O4S is an aspartic acid-containing dipeptide sweetener. It was developed by Pfizer in the early 1980s and currently marketed in some countries under the brand name Aclame. It is an intense sweetener with sweetness potency 200 times greater than that of sucrose (**Figure 8**).

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*Artificial Sweeteners*

**Figure 7.**

**Figure 8.**

*Structure of alitame.*

*Structure of neotame.*

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93199*

*2.3.7.1 Metabolism and health aspects*

**3. Conclusion**

Alitame is readily absorbed in gastrointestinal tract and then rapidly metabolized and excreted [10]. Alitame consists of two main components namely aspartic acid and alanine amide. The aspartic acid component is metabolized normally and

The increased concern about obesity and the associated metabolic comorbidities have led to a reduced consumption of simple sugars and an increase in the intake of artificial sweeteners. These sweeteners, which appear as sugar alternatives, have been critically evaluated by the FDA and EFSA. Artificial sweeteners are not carbohydrates and so they will not increase blood sugar levels leading to diabetics but instead every gram of table sugar contains four calories and contributes to obesity [11]. The artificial sweeteners like saccharin, acesulfame-K and aspartame induces DNA damage in human peripheral lymphocytes [11]. The degradation products of acesulfame-K under basic conditions such as acetoacetic acid and acetoacetamide-Nsulfonic acid may cause DNA strand breaks [5]. Aspartame leads to gastrointestinal problems. The toxic potential of various artificial sweeteners for the human body was shown in **Table 1**. Therefore artificial sweeteners provide some potential health benefits. In addition they are toxic at high concentrations for the long time exposure. Artificial sweeteners consumption has been shown to cause mild to serious side effects including life threatening brain damages at high concentrations. But however low concentrations of these sweeteners does not cause threat to human health.

alanine amide passes through the body with minimal changes.

**Figure 6.** *Structure of sodium cyclamate.*

**Figure 7.** *Structure of neotame.*

**Figure 8.** *Structure of alitame.*

#### *2.3.7.1 Metabolism and health aspects*

Alitame is readily absorbed in gastrointestinal tract and then rapidly metabolized and excreted [10]. Alitame consists of two main components namely aspartic acid and alanine amide. The aspartic acid component is metabolized normally and alanine amide passes through the body with minimal changes.

### **3. Conclusion**

The increased concern about obesity and the associated metabolic comorbidities have led to a reduced consumption of simple sugars and an increase in the intake of artificial sweeteners. These sweeteners, which appear as sugar alternatives, have been critically evaluated by the FDA and EFSA. Artificial sweeteners are not carbohydrates and so they will not increase blood sugar levels leading to diabetics but instead every gram of table sugar contains four calories and contributes to obesity [11]. The artificial sweeteners like saccharin, acesulfame-K and aspartame induces DNA damage in human peripheral lymphocytes [11]. The degradation products of acesulfame-K under basic conditions such as acetoacetic acid and acetoacetamide-Nsulfonic acid may cause DNA strand breaks [5]. Aspartame leads to gastrointestinal problems. The toxic potential of various artificial sweeteners for the human body was shown in **Table 1**. Therefore artificial sweeteners provide some potential health benefits. In addition they are toxic at high concentrations for the long time exposure. Artificial sweeteners consumption has been shown to cause mild to serious side effects including life threatening brain damages at high concentrations. But however low concentrations of these sweeteners does not cause threat to human health.


**307**

**Author details**

Kanagamani Krishnasamy

provided the original work is properly cited.

Department of Chemistry, SNS College of Technology, Coimbatore, India

© 2020 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,

\*Address all correspondence to: kanagamanichem@gmail.com

*Artificial Sweeteners*

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93199*

*FDA, Food and Drug Administration; GRAS, generally recognized as safe.*

#### **Table 1.**

*List of few artificial sweeteners, ADI value and uses.*

*Artificial Sweeteners DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93199*
