Acesulfame potassium explained

Acesulfame potassium ([1] [2] or [1]), also known as acesulfame K (K is the symbol for potassium) or Ace K, is a synthetic calorie-free sugar substitute (artificial sweetener) often marketed under the trade names Sunett and Sweet One. In the European Union, it is known under the E number (additive code) E950.[3] It was discovered accidentally in 1967 by German chemist Karl Clauss at Hoechst AG (now Nutrinova).[4] Acesulfame potassium is the potassium salt of 6-methyl-1,2,3-oxathiazine-4(3H)-one 2,2-dioxide. It is a white crystalline powder with molecular formula and a molecular weight of 201.24 g/mol.[5]

Properties

Acesulfame K is 200 times sweeter than sucrose (common sugar), as sweet as aspartame, about two-thirds as sweet as saccharin, and one-third as sweet as sucralose. Like saccharin, it has a slightly bitter aftertaste, especially at high concentrations. Kraft Foods patented the use of sodium ferulate to mask acesulfame's aftertaste.[6] Acesulfame K is often blended with other sweeteners (usually sucralose or aspartame). These blends are reputed to give a more sucrose-like taste whereby each sweetener masks the other's aftertaste, or exhibits a synergistic effect by which the blend is sweeter than its components.[7] Acesulfame potassium has a smaller particle size than sucrose, allowing for its mixtures with other sweeteners to be more uniform.[8]

Unlike aspartame, acesulfame K is stable under heat, even under moderately acidic or basic conditions, allowing it to be used as a food additive in baking, or in products that require a long shelf life. Although acesulfame potassium has a stable shelf life, it can eventually degrade to acetoacetamide, which is toxic in high doses.[9] In carbonated drinks, it is almost always used in conjunction with another sweetener, such as aspartame or sucralose. It is also used as a sweetener in protein shakes and pharmaceutical products,[10] especially chewable and liquid medications, where it can make the active ingredients more palatable. The acceptable daily intake of acesulfame potassium is listed as 15 mg/kg/day.[11]

Acesulfame potassium is widely used in the human diet and excreted by the kidneys. It thus has been used by researchers as a marker to estimate to what degree swimming pools are contaminated by urine.[12]

Other names for acesulfame K are potassium acesulfamate, potassium salt of 6-methyl-1,2,3-oxothiazin-4(3H)-one-2,3-dioxide, and potassium 6-methyl-1,2,3-oxathiazine-4(3H)-one-3-ate-2,2-dioxide.

Effect on body weight

Acesulfame potassium provides a sweet taste with no caloric value. There is no high-quality evidence that using acesulfame potassium as a sweetener affects body weight or body mass index (BMI).[13] [14] [15]

Discovery

Acesulfame potassium was developed after the accidental discovery of a similar compound (5,6-dimethyl-1,2,3-oxathiazin-4(3H)-one 2,2-dioxide) in 1967 by Karl Clauss and Harald Jensen at Hoechst AG.[16] [17] After accidentally dipping his fingers into the chemicals with which he was working, Clauss licked them to pick up a piece of paper.[18] Clauss is the inventor listed on a United States patent issued in 1975 to the assignee Hoechst Aktiengesellschaft for one process of manufacturing acesulfame potassium.[19] Subsequent research showed a number of compounds with the same basic ring structure had different levels of sweetness. 6-methyl-1,2,3-oxathiazine-4(3H)-one 2,2-dioxide had particularly favourable taste characteristics and was relatively easy to synthesize, so it was singled out for further research, and received its generic name (acesulfame-K) from the World Health Organization in 1978. Acesulfame potassium first received approval for table top use in the United States in 1988.[11]

Safety

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its general use as a safe food additive in 1988,[20] and maintains that safety assessment, as of 2023.[21] In a 2000 scientific review, the European Food Safety Authority determined that acesulfame K is safe in typical consumption amounts, and does not increase the risk of diseases.[22]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Encyclopedia: acesulfame . Oxford English Dictionary . OED . 24 July 2022.
  2. Web site: acesulfame–K. Merriam-Webster. 31 January 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170310220058/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acesulfame%E2%80%93K. 10 March 2017. live.
  3. Web site: Current EU approved additives and their E Numbers . Food Standards Agency . UK . 2012-03-14 . 2012-08-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130821045312/http://food.gov.uk/policy-advice/additivesbranch/enumberlist . 2013-08-21 . live .
  4. Clauss, K. . Jensen, H. . Oxathiazinone Dioxides - A New Group of Sweetening Agents . Angewandte Chemie International Edition . 1973 . 12 . 11 . 869–876 . 10.1002/anie.197308691 .
  5. Ager, D. J. . Pantaleone, D. P. . Henderson, S. A. . Katritzky, A. R. . Prakash, I. . Walters, D. E. . Commercial, Synthetic Nonnutritive Sweeteners . Angewandte Chemie International Edition . 1998 . 37 . 13–14 . 1802–1817 . 10.1002/(SICI)1521-3773(19980803)37:13/14<1802::AID-ANIE1802>3.0.CO;2-9 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080910124009/http://ufark12.chem.ufl.edu/Published_Papers/PDF/728.pdf . 2008-09-10 .
  6. https://web.archive.org/web/20170430070157/http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?patentnumber=5336513 United States Patent 5,336,513
  7. Web site: Deis RC. Customizing Sweetness Profiles. Food Product Design. 16 May 2018. November 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20140811002814/http://nfscfaculty.tamu.edu/talcott/courses/FSTC605/Food%20Product%20Design/Customizing%20Sweetness.pdf. 11 August 2014. dead.
  8. Mullarney, M.; Hancock, B.; Carlson, G.; Ladipo, D.; Langdon, B. "The powder flow and compact mechanical properties of sucrose and three high-intensity sweeteners used in chewable tablets". Int. J. Pharm. 2003, 257, 227–236.
  9. Findikli, Z.; Zeynep, F.; Sifa, T. Determination of the effects of some artificial sweeteners on human peripheral lymphocytes using the comet assay. Journal of toxicology and environmental health sciences 2014, 6, 147–153.
  10. Web site: Home – WHO – Prequalification of Medicines Programme. 2 March 2017.
  11. Whitehouse, C.; Boullata, J.; McCauley, L. "The potential toxicity of artificial sweeteners". AAOHN J. 2008, 56, 251–259, quiz 260.
  12. News: Just How Much Pee Is In That Pool? . Erika Engelhaupt . NPR . March 1, 2017 . March 2, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170301203510/http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/03/01/517785902/just-how-much-pee-is-in-that-pool . March 1, 2017 . live .
  13. Miller PE, Perez V . Low-calorie sweeteners and body weight and composition: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and prospective cohort studies . The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition . 100 . 3 . 765–777 . September 2014 . 24944060 . 10.3945/ajcn.113.082826 . 4135487 .
  14. Azad MB, Abou-Setta AM, Chauhan BF, Rabbani R, Lys J, Copstein L, Mann A, Jeyaraman MM, Reid AE, Fiander M, MacKay DS, McGavock J, Wicklow B, Zarychanski R . Nonnutritive sweeteners and cardiometabolic health: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and prospective cohort studies . CMAJ . 189 . 28 . E929–E939 . July 2017 . 28716847 . 5515645 . 10.1503/cmaj.161390 .
  15. Rogers PJ, Hogenkamp PS, de Graaf C, Higgs S, Lluch A, Ness AR, Penfold C, Perry R, Putz P, Yeomans MR, Mela DJ . Does low-energy sweetener consumption affect energy intake and body weight? A systematic review, including meta-analyses, of the evidence from human and animal studies . International Journal of Obesity . 40 . 3 . 381–94 . September 2015 . 10.1038/ijo.2015.177 . 26365102 . 4786736 .
  16. Book: O'Brien-Nabors, L. . Alternative Sweeteners . Marcel Dekker . New York, NY . 2001 . 13 . 978-0-8247-0437-7 .
  17. Book: Williams, R. J. . Goldberg, I. . Biotechnology and Food Ingredients . Van Nostrand Reinhold . New York . 1991 . 978-0-442-00272-5 .
  18. Book: Newton, D. E. . Food Chemistry (New Chemistry) . Infobase Publishing . New York . 2007 . 69 . 978-0-8160-5277-6 . 2017-09-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160305104737/https://www.scribd.com/doc/50359642/Food-Chemistry#page=82 . 2016-03-05 . live .
  19. Clauss, K. . Process for the manufacture of 6-methyl-3,4-dihydro-1,2,3-oxathiazine-4-one-2,2-dioxide . US . 3917589 . 1975.
  20. Kroger, M. . Meister, K. . Kava, R. . Low-Calorie Sweeteners and Other Sugar Substitutes: A Review of the Safety Issues . . 2006 . 5 . 2 . 35–47 . 10.1111/j.1541-4337.2006.tb00081.x . free .
  21. Web site: Aspartame and Other Sweeteners in Food . US Food and Drug Administration . 30 June 2023 . 30 May 2023.
  22. Web site: Opinion - Re-evaluation of acesulfame K with reference to the previous SCF opinion of 1991 . EU Commission . Scientific Committee on Food . SCF/CS/ADD/EDUL/194 final . 2000 . 2007-10-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080910124007/http://ec.europa.eu/food/fs/sc/scf/out52_en.pdf . 2008-09-10 . dead .

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