A review of the genotoxic and carcinogenic effects of aspartame: does it safe or not?

Abstract

The objective of this article is to review genotoxicologic and carcinogenic profile of the artificial sweetener aspartame. Aspartame is a synthetic dipeptide, nearly 180-200 times sweeter than sucrose. It is the most widely used artificial sweetener especially in carbonated and powdered soft drinks, beverages, drugs and hygiene products. There is a discussion ongoing for many years whether aspartame posses genotoxic and carcinogenic risk for humans. This question led to many studies to specify the adverse effects of aspartame. Therefore, we aimed to review the oldest to latest works published in major indices to gather information within this article. With respect to published data, genotoxicity and carcinogenicity of aspartame is still confusing. So, consumers should be aware of the potential side effects of aspartame before they consume it.

Ameliorative Role of Silymarin Against Aspartame–induced Biochemical Changes, Oxidative Stress, Inflammatory Effect and Genotoxicity in Male Albino Rats

“…On the contrary, the present results disagreed with who recorded that ASP had a moderate genotoxic effect [77]. Also, ASP and acesulfame-K administration induced no significant increase in the frequency of CA in Swiss albino mice bone marrow cells [78].…”

The in vitro cytotoxic, genotoxic, and oxidative damage potentials of the oral artificial sweetener aspartame on cultured human blood cells

“…Conversely, previous studies have also reported that it did not increase sister chromatid exchange (SCE) [28,29] and was not mutagenic at Ames test analysis involving Salmonella typhimurium strains [29,30]. Otherwise, APM was described as a moderately genotoxic agent [31]. However, it was reported that no evidence of gene mutation induction in a series of bacterial mutation tests, and that although there was evidence of in vitro chromosome damage induction, this occurred secondary to cytotoxicity and did not involve primary DNA damage [32].…”

Histological changes of tongue papillae induced by the artificial sweetener Aspartame and the protective effect of Platelet-rich plasma

“…patients (2) . It is found in many products, including soft drinks, chewing gum, candy, yogurt, and some pharmaceutical products, such as vitamins and sugar free cough drops (3) According to recommendations from FDA and the JECFA (Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives), the acceptable daily intake of aspartame is 50 mg/ kg and 40 mg/kg per day, respectively (4,5) . Although, the Food and Drugs Administration and other advisory agencies have considered ASP to be safe in acceptable daily intake range, however some experimental and epidemiological studies have recently reported that ASP consumption at abuse doses results in some adverse effects such as obesity (6,7) , nephrotoxicity (8) , metabolic syndrome (9) , cancer (10,11) , and adverse neurobehavioral effects (12) .…”