natural sweeteners

Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni) is a natural sweetener plant that accumulates highly sweet steviol glycosides (SGs) especially in leaves. Stevia is native to humid areas and does not have a high tolerance to drought which is the most serious abiotic stress restricting its production worldwide. C2H2 zinc finger proteins (C2H2-ZFPs) are a group of well-known transcription factors that involves in various developmental, physiological and biochemical activities as well as in response to abiotic stresses. Here we analyzed C2H2-ZFP gene family in stevia and identified a total of 185 putative SrC2H2-ZF proteins from the genome sequence of S...

The molecular origin of the sweet taste is still elusive. Herein, the canonical AH-B-X theory of sweet taste is extended by resurveying various sweeteners, which provides deeper insights into an analogous intramolecular connectivity pattern of both glucophores in sweeteners and their interaction counterparts in sweet taste receptor TAS1R2/TAS1R3: electrostatic complementarity and topochemical compatibility. Furthermore, their complementary interaction is elaborately illustrated, accounting for the common molecular feature of eliciting sweetness...

Energy drinks and mango juice are popular beverages. Apart from the natural ingredients and some additives present in these drinks, sugar is an important component of both. It has been established that, other than providing sweetness, sugars are potent to bring about health consequences for their consumers. Sweeteners, both artificial (aspartame, sodium cyclamate, and saccharin) and natural (sucrose), were our centers of interest. This study aimed to determine the presence and levels of these sweeteners in energy drinks and mango juice...

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of the Philadelphia Beverage Tax on perceived beverage healthfulness, and awareness and opinions of the tax. DESIGN: Natural experiment SETTING: Small independent stores in Philadelphia (n = 61) and Baltimore (untaxed control site; n = 65) PARTICIPANTS: Shoppers in Philadelphia (n = 2,731) and Baltimore (n = 4,600) pre- and post-tax implementation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Perceptions of 4 beverages (unhealthy vs healthy/neutral), tax awareness, and tax opinions (oppose vs favor/neutral)...

Because of their complicated biosynthesis and hydrophobic nature, fermentative production of terpenoids did not play a significant role on a commercial scale until a few years ago. Driven by technological progress in metabolic engineering and process biotechnology, terpene-based food ingredients such as flavors, sweeteners, and vitamins produced by fermentation have now become viable and commercially competitive options. In recent years, several companies have developed microbial platforms for commercial terpene production...

Many additives, some of which have no nutritional value, can be legally used in processed foods. They intensify colour, thicken, increase shelf life and enhance flavour. Regulatory authorities issue approvals as safe within acceptable quantitative limits. Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) contain combinations of all these additives and are particularly attractive to children.Many publications suggest that artificial colourants, benzoate preservatives, non-caloric sweeteners, emulsifiers and their degradation derivatives have adverse effects by increasing risks of mental health disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome and potential carcinogenic effects...

Based on the versatile properties of bio-derived materials, non-enzymatic assays in combination with electronic devices have attracted increasing interest. Here, we report a novel enzyme-free visualization approach for the detection of erythritol, which is a zero-calorie natural sweetener and serves as an ideal sucrose substitute for diabetics or overweight people who need sugar control. The recognition element of the electrochemical biosensor was constructed by catechol modification on a chitosan-based hydrogel film...

IMPORTANCE: An increasing body of evidence indicates an association between consuming sugar or its alternatives and cardiometabolic diseases. However, the effects of the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, artificially sweetened beverages, and natural juices on kidney health remain unclear. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages, artificially sweetened beverages, and natural juices with the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD), and the effect of substituting these beverage types for one another on this association...

Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni water extracts have been used as a natural sweetener and customary medicine by the indigenous inhabitants of South America for several hundred years. This plant was sent to Europe in the 16th century and was described by Peter Jacob Esteve in Spain. Recently the food industry has started to employ S. rebaudiana as sweetener using its glycosides after purification. Advertisement claims that Stevia glycosides is good for controling body mass and reducing glycemia. This study's objective was to evaluate the effect of S...

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and food additives have become ubiquitous components of the modern human diet. There is increasing evidence of an association between diets rich in UPFs and gut disease, including inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer and irritable bowel syndrome. Food additives are added to many UPFs and have themselves been shown to affect gut health. For example, evidence shows that some emulsifiers, sweeteners, colours, and microparticles and nanoparticles have effects on a range of outcomes, including the gut microbiome, intestinal permeability and intestinal inflammation...

As a result of the production of blackcurrant juice, pomace is produced, which is a cheap, easy to further process raw material with high health benefits. The aim of the research was to develop a recipe for shortbread cookies based on blackcurrant pomace (0, 10, 30, 50%) and erythritol, and to assess their nutritional value (content of proteins, fats, sugars, dietary fibre, selected minerals and energy value), pro-health properties (antioxidant and anti-diabetic capacity) and sensory evaluation. The energy value of products with 50% of pomace sweetened with erythritol was nearly 30% lower compared to traditional cookies, while the content of dietary fibre was 10 times higher in products with the highest percentage of pomace...

Fruit juice (FJ) is typically low in energy, contains natural sugars, important amounts of micronutrients and is not permitted to have added sugars/sweeteners. However, its role in a healthy diet is under scrutiny partly due to the wider adoption of the definition for free sugars in nutrition policy. This review aimed to identify data on FJ consumption from national food consumption surveys across Europe, to examine current intakes, percent consumers and its contribution to intakes of energy, total sugars, free sugars, vitamin C, folate and potassium...

In 2023, the algorithm underlying the Nutri-Score front-of-pack label was updated to better align with food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) across countries engaged in the system. On the basis of a comparison of FBDGs and literature reviews with the current Nutri-Score classification, modification scenarios were developed and tested in nutritional composition databases of branded products in four countries. The updated Nutri-Score nutrient profile model allows a better discrimination between products, in closer alignment with FBDGs, while the updated algorithm adopts a stricter approach for products that are high in components of concern (including non-nutritive sweeteners) and low in favourable dietary components...

The quality of drinks affects the functioning of the liver. In recent decades, the variety of high-calorie and sweet drinks has increased. The objective of this study was to explore the association between Healthy Beverage Index (HBI) and the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) among adults. We included 6,276 participants aged 35 to 65 from the Ravansar Non-Communicable Disease (RaNCD) cohort study at baseline. NAFLD is defined based on the fatty liver index (FLI), calculated using anthropometric measurements and non-invasive markers...

Noncaloric or low-caloric sweeteners have become popular worldwide, although debates persist regarding their impact on health. To investigate whether the sweeteners are favorable for glucose homeostasis, our study assessed the effects of glycyrrhetinic acid monoglucuronide (GAMG) and several commonly used sweeteners [glycyrrhetinic acid (GA), stevioside, erythritol, sucralose, and aspartame] on glycometabolism and elucidated the underlying mechanisms. The C57BL/6J male mice were exposed to different sweeteners for 10 weeks, and our results showed that GAMG significantly reduced fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels (FBG-control: 3...

Trilobatin (TBL) is a key sweet compound from the traditional Chinese sweet tea plant ( Rubus suavissimus S. Lee ). Because of its intense sweetness, superior taste profile, and minimal caloric value, it serves as an exemplary natural dihydrochalcone sweetener. It also has various health benefits, including anti-inflammatory and glucose-lowering effects. It is primarily produced through botanical extraction, which impedes its scalability and cost-effectiveness. In a novel biotechnological approach, phloretin is used as a precursor that is transformed into TBL by the glycosyltransferase enzyme ph-4'-OGT...

Gastritis, one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders, damages the stomach lining as it causes a disproportion between the protective and ruinous factors of the gastric system. Cabbage (CB) is widely used to treat gastric lesions but requires the addition of natural sweeteners to counteract its distinct bitter taste. Therefore, this study sought to determine whether the combination of chestnut honey (CH)-which is known for its dark brown color and high kynurenic acid (KA) content-or KA-increased CH (KACH) with CB (CH + CB or KACH + CB) exerts synergistic effects for improving both taste and efficacy...

This study examines the inhibitory effects of a range of sweeteners on α-glucosidase. Our findings revealed that only one natural sweetener, namely, glycyrrhetinic acid 3- O -mono-beta-d-glucuronide (GAMG), derived from licorice, exhibited a mixed-type inhibition against α-glucosidase with a IC50 value of 0.73 ± 0.05 mg/mL. The fluorescence intensity of α-glucosidase was quenched by GAMG in the formation of an α-glucosidase-GAMG complex. GAMG has been shown to induce conformational changes in α-glucosidase, likely through hydrogen bonding, van der Waals force, and alkyl-alkyl interactions with amino acid residues, including Arg 281, Leu 283, Trp 376, Asp 404, Asp 443, Trp 481, Asp 518, Phe 525, Ala 555, and Asp 616...

<b>Background and Objective:</b> Stevia (<i>Stevia rebaudiana</i>), often known as sweet leaf, is a perennial plant and a member of the Asteraceae family. The commercial version of stevia leaf powder, known as Steviana, is one of the most popular natural sweeteners in use today. The current study aimed to analyze the activities of gut digestive enzymes, intestinal oxidative state and intestinal histological structure in stevia-fed rats. <b>Materials and Methods:</b> In this study, male rats were given Steviana and the oxidative condition of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), the activities of certain digestive enzymes and the histomorphology of the GIT were examined...

Overconsumption of added sugars has been pointed out as a major culprit in the increasing rates of obesity worldwide, contributing to the rising popularity of non-caloric sweeteners. In order to satisfy the growing demand, industrial efforts have been made to purify the sweet-tasting molecules found in the natural sweetener stevia, which are characterized by a sweet taste free of unpleasant aftertaste. Although the use of artificial sweeteners has raised many concerns regarding metabolic health, the impact of purified stevia components on the latter remains poorly studied...