Saccharin, structure sweetness

Saccharin sucralose and aspartame illustrate the diversity of structural types that taste sweet and the vitality and continuing development of the in dustry of which they are a part ... 

Hi) Sulfamates.—The two most well known sweet compounds in this class are cyclamate (9) and saccharin (10). Considerable structural modifications have been recorded, and their tastes ascertained. 

Structurally related to saccharin are the oxathiazinone dioxides (104). Clauss and coworkers synthesized a series of these compounds, and demonstrated that they possess intense sweetness. Acesulfame-K, the potassium salt of 3,4-dihydro-6-methyl-l,2,3-oxathiazin-4-one 2,2-dioxide (104) has a sweetness intensity 130 times that of sucrose. 

Sweet Taste. The mechanism of sweetness perception has been extensively studied because of its commercial importance. Many substances that vary in chemical structure have been discovered which are similar to the taste of sucrose. Commercial sweeteners include sucralose, acesulfame-K, saccharin, aspartame, cyclamate (Canada) and the protein thaumatin 4), Each sweetener is unique in its perceived sensation because of the time to the onset of sweetness and to maximum sweetness, ability to mask other sensations, persistence, aftertaste and intensity relative to sucrose [TABLE IT. For example, the saccharides, sorbitol and... 

Acesulfame-K. Acesulfame-K [55589-62-3] (4), the potassium salt of acesulfame [33665-90-6] (6-methyl-l,2,3-oxathiazin-4(3Ff)-one 2,2-dioxide), is a sweetener that resembles saccharin in structure and taste profile. 5,6-Dimethyl-l,2,3-oxathiazine-4(3 H)-one 2,2-dioxide, the first of many sweet compounds belonging to the dihydrooxathiazinone dioxide class, was discovered accidentally in 1967 (63). From these many sweet compounds, acesulfame was chosen for commercialization. To improve water solubility, the potassium salt was made. Acesulfame-K (trade name Sunette) was approved for dry product use in the United States in 1988 and in Canada in October, 1994. Later, it was approved by the FDA for additional food categories such as yogurts, frozen and refrigerated desserts, and baked goods. 

A first requirement for a substance to produce a taste is that it be water soluble. The relationship between the chemical structure of a compound and its taste is more easily established than that between structure and smell. In general, all acid substances are sour. Sodium chloride and other salts are salty, but as constituent atoms get bigger, a bitter taste develops. Potassium bromide is both salty and bitter, and potassium iodide is predominantly bitter. Sweetness is a property of sugars and related compounds but also of lead acetate, beryllium salts, and many other substances such as the artificial sweeteners saccharin and cyclamate. Bitterness is exhibited by alkaloids such as quinine, picric acid, and heavy metal salts. 

The chemical structure of the most important nonnutritive sweeteners is shown in Figure 11-4. Saccharin is available as the sodium or calcium salt of orthobenzosulfimide. The cyclamates are the sodium or calcium salts of cyclohexane sulfamic acid or the acid itself. Cyclamate is 30 to 40 times sweeter than sucrose, and about 300 times sweeter than saccharin. Organoleptic comparison of sweetness indicates that the medium in which the sweetener is tasted may affect the results. There is also a concentration effect. At higher concentrations, the sweetness intensity of the synthetic sweeteners increases at a lower rate than that which occurs with sugars. This has been ascribed to the bitter-... 

The sulfur derivative (87) is 1000 times as sweet as sugar and without the bitter after-taste of saccharin however, it was discovered that N-alkylation of (87) removed the sweetness. On the other hand, in the saccharins (88a)-(88e) containing substituents in the 4-position and 6-position, sweetness was retained after N-alkylation. Many sulfamic acid derivatives are sweet, and there have been numerous studies of structure-taste relationships which have highlighted the importance of molecular shape and stereochemistry (see Chapter 9, p. 162). Two sulfamates which are commercial, non-nutritive sweeteners are cyclamate (85) and acesulfame potassium (86) (Figure 11). Cyclamate (85) is manufactured by refluixing cyclohexylamine either with triethylamine-sulfur trioxide in dichloromethane or with sulfamic acid (see Chapter 9, p. 162). 

Synthetic noncarbohydrate compounds can also produce a sweet taste. Saccharin, a synthetic compound, tastes 400 times as sweet as sucrose and has the following structure ... 

Many synthetic sweeteners are known, perhaps the most familiar being saccharin. It was discovered in 1 879 in the laboratory of Professor Ira Remsen at Johns Flopkins University. Its structure has no relation whatsoever to that of the saccharides, but saccharin is about 300 times sweeter than sucrose. For most tastes, 0.5 grain (0.03 g) of saccharin is equivalent in sweetness to a heaping teaspoon (1 0 g) of sucrose. Saccharin is made commercially from toluene, as shown in Figure 1 6.4. 

Sweeteners are natural or synthetic compounds which imprint a sweet sensation and possess no or negligible nutritional value ( nonnutritive sweeteners ) in relation to the extent of sweetness. There is considerable interest in new sweeteners. The rise in obesity in industrialized countries has established a trend for calorie-reduced nutrition. Also, there is an increased discussion about the safety of saccharin and cyclamate, the two sweeteners which were predominant for a long time. The search for new sweeteners is complicated by the fact that the relationship between chemical structure and sweetness perception is not yet satisfactorily resolved. In addition, the safety of suitable compounds has to be certain. Some other criteria must also be met, for example, the compound must be adequately soluble and stable over a wide pH and temperature range, have a clean sweet taste without side or post-flavor effects, and provide a sweetening effect as cost-effectively as does sucrose. At present, some new sweeteners are on the market (e. g., acesulfame and aspartame). The application of a number of other compounds will be discussed here. 

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