Good News for Sweet Lovers: New Low-Calorie Sweetener Developed

New low-calorie sweetener has been developed to improve gut health and replace table sugar.

Highlights:

A new low-calorie sweetener can help improve gut health
The new sweetener has a prebiotic effect on the gut microbiome
It can be substituted for table sugar, as it tastes the same

New low-calorie sweetener developed tastes similar to table sugar and can even improve the health of the gut, reveals a new study.//

From the wide variety of sodas, candies and baked goods that are sold worldwide, it’s clear that people love their sweet treats. But consuming too much white table sugar or artificial sweetener can lead to health issues.

Low-Calorie Sweetener Use by Mothers can Lead to Fatter Offsprings
Women who consume low-calorie sweeteners during pregnancy may disrupt body weight and gut microbiota function in their offspring, reveals a new study.

‘The new combination had a sweetness similar to that of table sugar and found to be acceptable to consumers.’

In the search for a better sweetener, researchers in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry now report a low-calorie mixture that is as sweet as table sugar and, in lab experiments, feeds “good” gut microbes.

Artificial sweeteners have exploded in popularity because they let people consume sweets without calories. However, while they’re considered safe for human consumption, studies in animals and humans suggest that some of them can stimulate appetite, leading to increased food consumption and weight gain, as well as other negative health outcomes.

Low-Calorie Sweetener Developed Good for Gut Health

So, researchers have been turning to the study of low-calorie or extremely sweet substances from natural sources as possible replacements. For example, galactooligosaccharides — found in mammalian milk — are low-calorie sugars with a prebiotic activity that can be a source of energy for beneficial gut microbes, but they’re not quite sweet enough to replace table sugar.

New Insights into Low-calorie Sweetener Tagatose
Low-calorie sweetener tagatose derived from lactose gets manufacturing boost from yeast, said researchers.

Alternatively, extracts from the luohan guo fruit(Siraitia grosvenorii or Monkfruit )contain mogrosides — compounds 200 to 300 times sweeter than table sugar. But these extracts sometimes have off-flavors, which can be removed with enzymes.

Eureka

So, F. Javier Moreno and colleagues wanted to take advantage of the best aspects of both natural substances, using enzymes to modify mogrosides while simultaneously producing galactooligosaccharides for a brand-new low-calorie sweetener.

Low-calorie Sweeteners May Make People Gain weight
People who use low-calorie sweeteners are more likely to gain weight, the exact opposite of what consumers expect.

The researchers started with lactose and mogroside V (the primary mogroside in luohan guo fruit). When they added β-galactosidase enzymes, the researchers obtained a mixture that contained mostly galactooligosaccharides and a small amount of modified mogrosides.

A trained sensory panel reported that the new combination had a sweetness similar to that of sucrose (table sugar), suggesting it could be acceptable to consumers. In test tube experiments, the new sweetener increased the levels of multiple human gut microbes that are beneficial, including Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus bacterial species.

Low-calorie Sweeteners Have Less Effect on Weight, Blood Sugar Than Sugar Does: Study
Low-calorie sweeteners cause only modest changes in blood sugar, insulin levels, insulin sensitivity and weight gain, as compared to those induced by sugar.

In addition, increases in bacteria-produced metabolites, such as acetate, propionate and butyrate, indicated that the mixture could potentially have a prebiotic effect on the gut microbiome. The researchers say that the new sweetener holds promise in these initial analyses, and their next step is to more closely study the substance’s impact on human gut health.

Source-Eurekalert