Natural Non-nutritive Sweeteners Research Articles

Temporal ranking for characterization and improved discrimination of protein beverages

AbstractWe propose a new temporal sensory method called temporal ranking (TR) in which assessors indicate and rank the three most noticeable sensations at every time point. The TR method was compared to temporal‐check‐all‐that‐apply (TCATA) in two trained‐panel studies, one study involving six ready‐to‐mix (RTM) protein beverages and one study involving seven ready‐to‐drink (RTD) protein beverages. In each study, the same attributes were used in both methods; six attributes were evaluated for RTMs and 10 attributes for RTDs. A trained sensory panel (n = 10) completed TCATA and temporal ranking (TR) training exercises, then evaluated each beverage in triplicate using each method in a replicated balanced randomized design. To evaluate each temporal method (TR and TCATA), each test beverage was compared with the sucrose‐ or sucralose‐sweetened control beverage within each study (RTM and RTD). Although results from TR and TCATA often coincided, TR better differentiated the protein beverage formulations on more sensory attributes and detected differences between the test and control beverages (p < .05) when TCATA did not. Overall, TR was found to be more sensitive in detecting sensory differences than TCATA, and thus could improve the guidance for the development and formulation of foods.Practical applicationsThis study proposes a new temporal method, temporal ranking, which has assessors continuously rank the three most noticeable attributes when evaluating a beverage. Temporal ranking data can give improved guidance, especially for products that might have side flavors, such as natural nonnutritive sweeteners or alternative protein sources. Further application of findings and methodologies from this study may help guide development and formulation of foods.

THE USE OF STEVIA AND MONK FRUIT SWEETENERS FOR SUGAR REPLACEMENT IN GREEN TEA AGAR JELLIES

This study aimed to develop healthy agar jellies with low-sugar content, linking to a decreased risk for heart attack, diabetes, and other chronic diseases. Two natural non-nutritive sweeteners, stevia and monk fruit were studied at 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% sugar replacement based on the equivalent sucrose sweetness. The physical properties assessed on the total soluble solids, firmness, color, and syneresis. Still, the sensory attributes on color, taste, flavor, texture, and overall acceptability was evaluated by a 9-point hedonic scale. The more sugar replacement lowered the total soluble solids but increased the gel firmness (p<0.05) and the lightness ( L* ). The syneresis declined in reduced-sugar jellies with stevia and monk fruit against the whole sugar jellies. The stevia and monk fruit replacement affected agar jellies' taste and flavor attributes (p<0.05). Jellies with 50% and 75% sugar replacement, either stevia or monk fruit, were preferred over 25% and 100% replacement. The jelly with 50% stevia was the optimal formulation.

Consumer perception of ice cream and frozen desserts in the “better-for-you” category

The consumption of ice cream and frozen desserts in the "better-for-you" (BFY) category has grown rapidly over the past few years, even as traditional ice cream sales remain stagnant. To better understand consumer preferences within the BFY category, an online survey (n = 1,051) was conducted with ice cream and frozen dessert consumers, followed by consumer acceptance testing of commercial BFY frozen dairy desserts. Consumers of BFY frozen desserts (n = 578) completed an adaptive choice-based conjoint survey and MaxDiff exercise to identify the attributes that drive purchase of BFY frozen desserts. MaxDiff exercises were also used to determine which attributes all frozen dessert consumers (n = 1,051) perceived to make a frozen dessert BFY and which stabilizers or emulsifiers were most attractive on an ice cream or frozen dessert label. Subsequently, a consumer acceptance test (n = 186) was conducted using 4 commercial vanilla-flavored frozen dairy desserts made with different sweetening systems (sugar, sucralose + acesulfame K, monk fruit + allulose, and stevia + erythritol). Half of consumers were primed or informed with the sweeteners and basic nutritional information for the frozen desserts before tasting, and the other half of consumers evaluated samples blinded, where they were only informed that they were tasting a vanilla-flavored frozen dessert. Sweetener type and base (dairy vs. plant) were the most important attributes to BFY consumers when selecting a BFY frozen dessert (n = 578). For all ice cream and BFY dessert consumers (n = 1,051), sweetener-related claims (naturally sweetened, reduced sugar, no added sugar), along with "all natural" and a short ingredient list, were the top attributes that contributed to perception of a "healthier" frozen dessert. When BFY frozen desserts were tasted by consumers, purchase intent decreased after tasting, suggesting that frozen desserts made with natural non-nutritive sweeteners did not meet consumer expectations. Flavor of BFY frozen desserts remains more important than perceived healthiness. Consumers perceive frozen desserts, even those in the BFY category, as an indulgence. Frozen dessert manufacturers should focus on naturally sweetened, dairy-based desserts with minimal sweetener-related flavor defects when designing products for the BFY category.

Natural non-nutritive but healthier sweeteners

Globally, the increasing adverse health effects of excessive consumption of natural nutritive sweeteners have lead to a significant interest in non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) among all age groups. The NNS approved by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has higher sweetness intensity than natural nutritive sugar. NNS when added to food they provide negligible calories and a promising healthier alternative to nutritive sweeteners for the dietary management of noncommunicable diseases. FSSAI has approved six non-nutritive artificial sweeteners (saccharin, aspartame, sucralose, isomaltulose, neotame, and acesulfame potassium) for use in human food. Besides their benefits, metabolic products of these artificial sweeteners have found controversial health effects over animal studies. Therefore, intensive research activities are being devoted by scientists all over the world to find less controversial, plant-derived, organic zero-calorie or low calorie, and non- carcinogenic NNS which provides consumer a better choice to satisfy their innate desire for a sweet taste without adding calories. This review highlights natural NNS, including their sensory property, structural characteristics, and specific compounds contributing to their sweetness, uses, and food applications. The steviol glycoside is the only natural NNS that has been approved by FSSAI.

Optimisation of natural sweeteners for sugar reduction in chocolate flavoured milk and their impact on sensory attributes

The possibility of achieving a 50% of added sugar reduction in chocolate milk using natural non-nutritive sweeteners, namely stevia and monk fruit extract was studied and optimised using response surface methodology. Variables were chosen as stevia sweetener (5–100 ppm) and monk fruit extract (50–100 ppm) based on preliminary trials. Sensory attributes (overall liking, appearance, aroma, sweetness, mouthfeel and aftertaste) were taken as the responses. The process was optimised with a combination of 56.27 ppm of stevia sweetener and 81.90 ppm of monk fruit extract with sensory attributes of 6.78, 6.47, 6.31, 6.47, 6.45 and 6.33, respectively for overall liking, appearance, aroma, sweetness, mouthfeel and aftertaste. Use of the two selected sweeteners in combination resulted in sweetness synergy and the bitter and metallic aftertastes of stevia were masked by the monk fruit extract and helped enhance the overall sensory attributes of the product compared with the control.

Sugar Reduction in Dairy Food: An Overview with Flavoured Milk as an Example.

Owing to the public health concern associated with the consumption of added sugar, the World Health Organization recommends cutting down sugar in processed foods. Furthermore, due to the growing concern of increased calorie intake from added sugar in sweetened dairy foods, the present review provides an overview of different types and functions of sugar, various sugar reduction strategies, and current trends in the use of sweeteners for sugar reduction in dairy food, taking flavoured milk as a central theme where possible to explore the aforementioned aspects. The strength and uniqueness of this review are that it brings together all the information on the available types of sugar and sugar reduction strategies and explores the current trends that could be applied for reducing sugar in dairy foods without much impact on consumer acceptance. Among different strategies for sugar reduction, the use of natural non-nutritive sweeteners (NNSs), has received much attention due to consumer demand for natural ingredients. Sweetness imparted by sugar can be replaced by natural NNSs, however, sugar provides more than just sweetness to flavoured milk. Sugar reduction involves multiple technical challenges to maintain the sensory properties of the product, as well as to maintain consumer acceptance. Because no single sugar has a sensory profile that matches sucrose, the use of two or more natural NNSs could be an option for food industries to reduce sugar using a holistic approach rather than a single sugar reduction strategy. Therefore, achieving even a small sugar reduction can significantly improve the diet and health of an individual.

Sucrose replacement: a sensory profile and time‐intensity analysis of a tamarind functional beverage with artificial and natural non‐nutritive sweeteners

Tamarind pulp contains polyphenolic compounds that exert antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects with a positive impact on human health. The elaboration of a tamarind-based functional beverage, without the addition of sucrose, can be an alternative to traditional caloric beverages. This study aimed to evaluate the sensory profile and time intensity of a functional tamarind beverage containing artificial and natural non-nutritive sweeteners. The results of the acceptance test, check-all-that-apply, and time-intensity tests showed that there were no statistically significant differences between the means of samples sweetened with sucralose and samples sweetened with sucrose for attributes relating to appearance, aroma, flavor, or texture, or for overall impression. Samples with natural sweeteners had lower means for overall product impression and a lower percentage of purchase intention. The perception of astringency, bitter taste, and bitter aftertaste may be linked to the lower global impression of the product. The descriptors 'tamarind flavor' and 'refreshment sensation' were higher in products that were more liked. The sample sweetened with stevia showed higher levels of sweetness, bitterness, and longer sweet stimulus duration in the time-intensity test. The sample sweetened with sucralose was the best alternative to sucrose in the functional tamarind beverage. The analyzed sweeteners did not show changes in the perception of the natural characteristics of the fruit used, such as tamarind flavor, refreshment sensation, and astringency. However, the attributes related to sweet and bitter aftertaste experienced in samples with natural sweeteners may have influenced the reduction in the intention to purchase the product. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Recent evidence for the effects of nonnutritive sweeteners on glycaemic control.

By replacing sugar, nonnutritive sweeteners (NNSs) are thought to aid in weight management and decrease insulin resistance. We reviewed the latest randomized clinical trials (RCTs) investigating the effects NNSs on glycaemic control. Six RCTs addressed this topic between 2017 and 2018; the majority tested artificial NNS (sucralose or aspartame), with only one testing natural NNS (stevia and monk fruit extract). Most found no effect of NNS on blood glucose, insulin, gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) levels; however, two trials showed an effect of sucralose on the acute insulin response. We are still incapable of reaching a definite judgement on which types of NNS, if any, impact glycaemic control. There is a need for more research to overcome the limitations of recent RCTs, related to sample size, intervention duration, dose, form of NNSs used, and inclusion of males or female participants only. Future studies should also compare different NNS types with each other, and include the increasingly popular 'natural' NNS.

Invited review: Sugar reduction in dairy products

Sugar overconsumption continues to increase worldwide and contributes to multiple health-related issues. Dairy foods represent a large market, grossing more than $125 billion per year worldwide. Consumer demands for healthier products are leading to a large push for sugar reduction in dairy foods. Sugar plays an important role in dairy foods, not only in flavor but also in texture, color, and viscosity. Replacing sugar can have negative effects, making substitution inherently difficult. Natural and artificial nonnutritive sweeteners exist for sugar reduction. Natural nonnutritive sweeteners are popular, particularly for label appeal, but many consumers still prefer the taste of artificial nonnutritive sweeteners. Sweet taste perception can also be affected by texture of the food matrix and the presence of fat. Other sugar reduction techniques include hydrolysis of lactose, ultrafiltration, and direct reduction. This review will address the role of sugar, alternative sweeteners, and sugar reduction in ice cream, yogurt, and flavored milk.

Non-nutritive sweeteners possess a bacteriostatic effect and alter gut microbiota in mice.

Non-nutritive sweeteners (NNSs) are widely used in various food products and soft drinks. There is growing evidence that NNSs contribute to metabolic dysfunction and can affect body weight, glucose tolerance, appetite, and taste sensitivity. Several NNSs have also been shown to have major impacts on bacterial growth both in vitro and in vivo. Here we studied the effects of various NNSs on the growth of the intestinal bacterium, E. coli, as well as the gut bacterial phyla Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes, the balance between which is associated with gut health. We found that the synthetic sweeteners acesulfame potassium, saccharin and sucralose all exerted strong bacteriostatic effects. We found that rebaudioside A, the active ingredient in the natural NNS stevia, also had similar bacteriostatic properties, and the bacteriostatic effects of NNSs varied among different Escherichia coli strains. In mice fed a chow diet, sucralose increased Firmicutes, and we observed a synergistic effect on Firmicutes when sucralose was provided in the context of a high-fat diet. In summary, our data show that NNSs have direct bacteriostatic effects and can change the intestinal microbiota in vivo.

Effect of Stevia on Glycemic and Insulin Responses in Obese Patients—A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Crossover Study

Background: Stevia is natural nonnutritive sweeteners (NNS) that is considered to be metabolic inert in contrast with artificial NNS, especially sucralose, which cause glucose intolerant in obese patients. However, acute effect of stevia ingestion on glycemic and insulin responses in obese patients are not clearly established. Objectives:To assess acute effect of stevia on glycemic and insulin responses in obese patients. Material and Methods: Obese patients underwent a 75 gram oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) preceded by consuming pills containing either 200 mg stevia or placebo for 60 minutes before test on two separate occasions, 1 week apart, in a randomized crossover design. Blood samples were obtained for glucose and insulin at 0,30,60,90 and 120 minutes. Area under the curve (AUC) of glucose and insulin responses were calculated. Indices for insulin sensitivity (Matsuda index) and Insulin secretion (Insulinogenic index) were calculated using minimal models of glucose and insulin kinetics. Results: Twenty obese patients (BMI 28.75±3.68 kg/m2) were recruited to the study. There were no significant differences in AUC of glucose and insulin between stevia and placebo (glucose, 15,285±4,531 vs. 15,101 ±3,955, p=0.89 and insulin 8,507 ±5,858 vs. 7,652 ± 5,020,p=0.62) Insulin sensitivity derived from OGTT using Matsuda index was not significant difference between stevia and placebo (4.74±1.86 vs. 5.84±2.96,p=0.09). Insulin secretion using Insulinogenic index was not significant difference between stevia and placebo (p=0.155). Conclusions: Stevia does not affect in acute glycemic and insulin responses to OGTT in obese patients. This findings need to be determined in longer duration of ingestion study. Disclosure P. Samakkarnthai: None. M. Payanundana: None. N. Sathavarodom: None. C. Siriwan: None. A. Boonyavarakul: None.

Effects of non-nutritive (artificial vs natural) sweeteners on 24-h glucose profiles.

Replacing nutritive sweetener with non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) has the potential to improve glycaemic control. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of consuming artificial NNS (that is, aspartame), natural NNS (that is, monk fruit and stevia), and sucrose-sweetened beverages on 24-h glucose profiles. Ten healthy males took part in this randomised, crossover study with the following four treatments: aspartame-, monk fruit-, stevia-, and sucrose- (65 g) sweetened beverages. Participants were asked to consume the test beverage as a preload mid-morning. Medtronic iPro2 continuous glucose monitoring system was used to measure mean 24-h glucose, incremental area under the curve (iAUC) and total area under the curve (AUC) for glucose, and 24-h glycaemic variability. Overall no significant differences were found in mean 24-h glucose, iAUC and total AUC for glucose, and 24-h glycaemic variability between the four test beverages. Twenty-four-hour glucose profiles did not differ between beverages sweetened with non-nutritive (artificial vs natural) and nutritive sweeteners. The simple exchange of a single serving of sucrose-sweetened beverage with NNS over a day appears to have minimal effect on 24-h glucose profiles in healthy males.

Parents' and children's acceptance of skim chocolate milks sweetened by monk fruit and stevia leaf extracts.

Chocolate milk increases milk consumption of children, but high sugar content raises health concerns. Interest in sugar reduction and parents' preference for natural sweeteners necessitates further research on natural nonnutritive sweeteners. However, it is important to maintain consumer acceptability, especially for children, while reducing sugar in chocolate milk. The objectives of this study were to identify the sweetness intensity perception of stevia leaf (STV) and monk fruit (MK) extracts in skim chocolate milk (SCM), to evaluate STV and MK as the sole or partial sweetener source for SCM for young adults (19 to 35 y) and children (5 to 13 y), and to determine if information on natural nonnutritive sweeteners impacted parents' acceptability of SCM. Power function and 2-alternative forced choice studies were used to determine the iso-sweetness of nonnutritive sweeteners to a sucrose control in SCM (51.4 g/L, SUC control). Young adults (n = 131) evaluated 9 different SCM (SUC control, STV, MK, STV:sucrose blends, or MK:sucrose blends) in a completely randomized 2-d test. Children (n = 167) evaluated SUC control SCM and SCM with 39.7 g/L sucrose and 46 mg/L MK (MK25) or 30 mg/L STV (STV25). Parents evaluated SUC control, MK25, and STV25 in a balanced crossover design with a 40-d wait time between primed or unprimed ballots. Chocolate milks solely sweetened by nonnutritive sweeteners were less acceptable compared with SUC control by young adults. MK25 and STV25 were acceptable by young adults and children. The presentation of chocolate milk label information had different effects on parental acceptance. Traditional parents preferred sucrose sweetened SCM, and label conscious parents preferred SCM with natural nonnutritive sweeteners.

DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF CARBONATED REGULAR AND DIET LEMON‐LIME BEVERAGES

ABSTRACTA lexicon for lemon‐lime carbonated beverages (regular and diet) was developed to understand the flavor and mouthfeel attributes of lemon‐lime beverages. Descriptive analysis of 18 carbonated lemon‐lime or citrus beverages was performed by a highly trained panel. Analysis of variance and principle component analysis were used to interpret results. Key differentiating attributes of beverages were mouthfeel attributes (carbonation, bite, burn, numbing, after‐numbing, slipperiness, tongue heaviness), basic tastes (sour aftertaste, sour, bitter, bitter aftertaste, other aftertaste, metallic aftertaste) and aromatics (overall aroma, cooked lime/lemon, lemon candy). Beverages were distinguished based on category (sparkling or soda), sweetening systems (diet versus regular) and brand. Beverages in the soda category were characterized by high bite, burn, numbing, carbonation and after‐numb, whereas beverages in the sparkling beverage category were characterized by slipperiness, overall aroma, cooked lemon/lime, sour taste and sour aftertaste. Diet beverages were characterized by bitter, bitter aftertaste, metallic aftertaste and other aftertaste, while regular beverages were characterized by tongue heaviness and lemon candy. The developed lexicon allowed for documentation of multimodal sensory perceptions generated by carbonated beverages.PRACTICAL APPLICATIONThe development of a comprehensive lexicon for carbonated lemon‐lime beverages descriptive analysis allows a precise documentation of sensory properties of the complex system of lemon‐lime‐flavored carbonated beverages. These results will further enable the study of the effects of other ingredients such as stabilizers, flavoring systems and natural nonnutritive sweeteners on the sensory perception of beverages. Development of low caloric lemon‐lime carbonated beverages that maintain similar flavor profile and mouthfeel attributes of regular beverages is challenging and can be assisted when the impact of ingredients on the sensory perception on the whole scope of the beverage system is understood.