Abstract
Aspartame and Stevia are widely substituted for sugar. Little is known about cerebral activation in response to low-caloric sweeteners in comparison with high-caloric sugar, whereas these molecules lead to different metabolic effects. We aimed to compare gustatory evoked potentials (GEPs) obtained in response to sucrose solution in young, healthy subjects, with GEPs obtained in response to aspartame and Stevia. Twenty healthy volunteers were randomly stimulated with three solutions of similar intensities of sweetness: Sucrose 10 g/100 mL of water, aspartame 0.05 g/100 mL, and Stevia 0.03 g/100 mL. GEPs were recorded with EEG (Electroencephalogram) electrodes. Hedonic values of each solution were evaluated using the visual analog scale (VAS). The main result was that P1 latencies of GEPs were significantly shorter when subjects were stimulated by the sucrose solution than when they were stimulated by either the aspartame or the Stevia one. P1 latencies were also significantly shorter when subjects were stimulated by the aspartame solution than the Stevia one. No significant correlation was noted between GEP parameters and hedonic values marked by VAS. Although sucrose, aspartame, and Stevia lead to the same taste perception, cerebral activation by these three sweet solutions are different according to GEPs recording. Besides differences of taste receptors and cerebral areas activated by these substances, neural plasticity, and change in synaptic connections related to sweet innate preference and sweet conditioning, could be the best hypothesis to explain the differences in cerebral gustatory processing after sucrose and sweeteners activation.
Highlights
Artificial and natural sweeteners are widely substituted for sugar and are present in many products, especially in sugar-free products
We aimed to compare Gustatory Evoked Potentials (GEPs) obtained in response to sucrose solution in young, healthy subjects, with GEPs obtained in response to aspartame, an artificial sweetener, and to Stevia, a natural sweetener, with the same experimental design
We aimed to investigate GEPs in response to sweeteners (Stevia, a natural sweetener, and aspartame, an artificial sweetener), in comparison with GEPs obtained after stimulation by a sucrose solution
Summary
Artificial and natural sweeteners are widely substituted for sugar and are present in many products, especially in sugar-free products. Their use is thought to reduce sugar consumption and Nutrients 2020, 12, 322; doi:10.3390/nu12020322 www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients. Nutrients 2020, 12, 322 significantly decrease caloric intake while maintaining the palatability of food and soft drinks. They are becoming more important in terms of dietary restrictions for diabetes [1]. Steviol glycosides are natural sweeteners extracted from a native shrub of Brazil and Paraguay, Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni (Stevia). The sweetener mixture mainly consists of stevioside and rebaudioside-A (Steviol glycosides) [3,4].
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