Cyclamate Case Study

We all consume sugar in one form or another on a daily basis, the consumption of too much sugar can lead to health problems though. Artificial sweeteners a in almost any food product such as beverages, ice cream, chocolate, chewing gum, jams, yogurt and salad dressings. The first artificial sweetener, saccharin, was synthesized in 1879 and was well accepted during World Wars I and II, due to the scarceness of sugar and its low production costs. The motive for consumption, however, has shifted from cost reduction to calorie reduction. A profitable market for low calorie diet products evolved; artificial sweeteners were substituted for sugar, leading to the manufacturing and marketing of diet products. A considerable amount of research has been

A study by Wagner in 1970, found a higher incidence of bladder carcinomas in rats, this resulted in the use of cyclamate being banned in the USA, UK and few other countries as well. The ban was eventually dismissed as cyclamate was found not to be carcinogenic and was readmitted into the market. Cyclamate is converted to a metabolite, cyclohexylamine, which is known to be toxic. Experiments conducted on rates and dogs and rates demonstrated that cyclohexylamine caused damage to spermatogenesis and testicular atrophy (Weihrauch and Diehl, 2004).

Aspartame

Aspartame, discovered in 1965, entered the market in 1981, is 200 times sweeter than regular sugar and is unique among artificial sweeteners because our bodies are capable of completely breaking it down to its components: phenylalanine, aspartic acid, and ethanol (Tandel, 2011).

One of the issues with aspartame are the products of hydrolysis such as 5-benzyl-3,6-dioxo-2-piperazine acetic acid (DPK) and b-aspartame. DPK and b-aspartame do not accumulate in the body and are absorbed into the blood and metabolized. A person’s daily diet contains 35 times more phenylalanine and 60 times more aspartic acid than is found in aspartame, metabolites of aspartame are present in many foods including, tomato juice and low-fat milk. The role of methanol formation has now been questioned as phenylalanine and aspartic acid are derived from our diet and are considered to be safe

The NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study on 1,258 pancreatic cancer patients also found no risk in consuming diet soft drinks. The relative risk found for the highest quintile of consumption versus never drinkers was 1.11. A study in California on 532 pancreatic cancer patients, found an increased association in patients who consumed diet coke, particularly in men, however, no associations were reported for caffeine-free diet coke or other diet drinks. A study in Italy between 1991 and 2008 found no associated risk in artificial sweetener consumption and various cancers including oral cavity and pharynx, oesophagus, colorectal, breast, ovary, prostate, and kidney. They did, however, find that laryngeal cancer was associated with a significant increased risk, with an odds ratio of 2.34 for more than two sachets a day; this association was also noted in regular sugar consumption. Another study found no relation with artificial sweeteners and cancer of the stomach, pancreas and endometrium (Marinovich et al., 2013).

Sucralose

Sucralose was discovered in 1976 and is the only sweetener made from sugar. It is 600 times sweeter than sugar and contains zero calories and is used in more than 4,000 food products. It is different to other artificial sweeteners because it can be heated and used in baking and frying. Sucralose is not absorbed in the body and most of it is passed through