Sensory profiling of natural sweeteners and sucrose–sweetener binary mixtures

Abstract

Overconsumption of added sugars is associated with higher incidences of obesity, type II diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Alternative sweeteners have long been relied on as a strategy to reduce consumption of added sugars; however these alternatives differ notably from sucrose in their sensory properties. Recently, consumers have also been looking to reduce consumption of ingredients deemed "artificial," seeking natural alternatives despite poor definitions of these terms on the whole. Wider knowledge of the sensory properties of natural sweeteners would greatly aid in this goal. Descriptive analysis and time-intensity scaling were used to characterize the temporal profile and offflavors of allulose, erythritol, rebaudioside (Reb) A, Reb D, Reb M, monk fruit, and thaumatin, as compared to sucrose. Further, each was blended to reduce sucrose by 50% and 75% in binary mixtures. Where significant off-flavors were frequently reported with sweeteners, when delivered in binary mixtures for partial sugar reduction, these were much mitigated, while also bringing temporal profiles closer to that of sucrose. This suggests that partial sugar reduction may be an effective way of reducing caloric intake while not compromising sensory experience.

The Identity and Mineral Composition of Natural, Plant-Derived and Artificial Sweeteners

“…Also, the impact of low-calorie sweetener consumption among adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) on the quality of life (glucose control, hypertension, or any other complication) and biochemical parameters related to metabolic functions was studied [ 6 , 7 ]. Another direction of research related to sweeteners encompasses studies verifying the possibility of using plant-derived and artificial sweeteners as substitutes for sugar and other natural sweeteners in food production, e.g., ice cream [ 8 ] and analyzing the acceptability of such modified foods by consumers [ 9 ]. Some works describing the results of several investigations on the impact of artificial sweeteners on our environment have been published recently.…”