steviol and acetosulfame

High-intensity sweeteners ('sweeteners'), such as sucralose, saccharine, acesulfame, cyclamate and steviol, are replacing sugars in many food products, but biomarker-based data on their population-wide exposure, as well as analytical methods that can quantify urinary concentrations of sugars and sweeteners simultaneously, are lacking. Here, we developed and validated an ultra-pressure liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method to quantify glucose, sucrose, fructose, sucralose, saccharine, acesulfame, cyclamate and steviol glucuronide in human urine. Urine samples were prepared by a simple dilution step containing the internal standards in water and methanol. Separation was achieved on a Shodex Asahipak NH2P-40 hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) column using gradient elution. The analytes were detected using electrospray ionization in negative ion mode, and selective reaction monitoring was optimized using the [M-H]- ions. Calibration curves ranged between 34 and 19,230 ng/mL for glucose and fructose, and 1.8 to 1,026 ng/mL for sucrose and the sweeteners. The method has acceptable accuracy and precision, which depends on the application of appropriate internal standards. Storage of urine samples in lithium monophosphate gives the best overall analytical performance, and storage at room temperature without any preservatives should be avoided since this leads to reduced glucose and fructose concentrations. With the exception of fructose, all analytes were stable throughout 3 freeze-thaw cycles. The validated method was applied to human urine samples, demonstrating quantifiable concentrations of the analytes which were in the expected range. It is concluded that the method has acceptable performance to quantitatively determine dietary sugars and sweeteners in human urine.

Topics: Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Chromatography, Liquid; Cyclamates; Fructose; Glucose; Humans; Non-Nutritive Sweeteners; Sucrose; Sugars; Sweetening Agents; Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Studies on the effects of non-nutritive sweeteners (NNSs) among pregnant women are scarce and have produced mixed results. One of the major challenges is to accurately assess NNS intake, especially in countries that have implemented policies to prevent obesity and where many foods and beverages have been progressively reformulated to partially or totally replace sugar with NNSs. This study aimed to develop and assess the relative validity of a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for use in pregnant women. We developed an FFQ to examine the intake of seven NNSs (acesulfame-k, aspartame, cyclamate, saccharin, sucralose, steviol glycosides, and D-tagatose). This questionnaire was piloted in 29 pregnant women (median age = 31.2 y; 25th-75th percentile: 26.9-34.7) to assess NNS intake over the previous month, compared to 3-day dietary records (3-DR). The validity of this dietary method was assessed using Spearman's correlation coefficient, Lin´s concordance correlation coefficient (CCC), and Bland-Altman plots. Spearman's correlations between the FFQ on NNSs and 3-DR ranged from 0.50 for acesulfame K to 0.83 for saccharin. CCC ranged between 0.22 and 0.66. The Bland-Altman plots showed an overestimation of saccharin, sucralose, and steviol glycosides intake by the FFQ on NNSs compared with 3-DR, and an underestimation of acesulfame K and aspartame. Overall, the NNSs most frequently consumed were sucralose, and none of the participants exceeded the acceptable daily intake for any of the NNSs evaluated. The FFQ on NNSs seems to be reasonably valid in the assessment of NNSs among pregnant women.

Topics: Adult; Aspartame; Chile; Female; Glucosides; Humans; Non-Nutritive Sweeteners; Pilot Projects; Pregnancy; Pregnant Women; Saccharin; Surveys and Questionnaires

Government regulatory actions and public policies to reduce sugar consumption were recently implemented in Brazil. To evaluate their potential impact on the supply of products containing high-intensity sweeteners (HIS) and on dietary exposure to these substances, this study aimed to create a comprehensive database on HIS declared in Brazilian commercial products and estimate their intake through consumption of these products. The occurrence of HIS was evaluated through labeling information of 1869 commercial products available in the Brazilian market, collected between January 2021 and August 2021, and the daily intake was estimated for eight HIS (acesulfame K, advantame, aspartame, cyclamate, steviol glycosides, neotame, saccharin and sucralose) using a deterministic approach by multiplying the maximum permitted levels of HIS in foods and beverages by the consumption data of these products. The consumption data were obtained from the report of Household Budget Survey (POF/IBGE), conducted from 2017 to 2018 through a 24-hour dietary recall applied to 46,164 individuals aged 10 years and over, which included only average data (i.e. average consumption for the general population or subgroups). The most frequent HIS in the investigated products were sucralose (26.8 %; n = 938) and acesulfame K (21.7 %; n = 759), and although the combination of sweeteners is a common practice in the food industry, there was a predominance of only one substance in the investigated products (46.7 %; n = 873). The estimated intake of HIS for average consumers was below the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) and does not suggest a toxicological concern. A similar scenario was observed for high consumers, except for cyclamate and steviol glycosides, which corresponded to 144 % and 131 % of their respective ADIs in the general population. To our knowledge, this is the most comprehensive database on HIS in Brazil and the most recent exposure assessment performed nationally.

Topics: Aspartame; Brazil; Cyclamates; Dietary Sugars; Diterpenes, Kaurane; Glucosides; Humans; Non-Nutritive Sweeteners; Saccharin; Sweetening Agents; Thiazines

Although the use of low-calorie sweeteners (LCSs) is widespread, methods of assessing consumption within free-living populations have inherent limitations. Five commonly consumed LCSs, namely, acesulfame-K, saccharin, sucralose, cyclamate, and steviol glycosides, are excreted via the urine, and therefore a urinary biomarker approach may provide more objective LCS intake data. A LC-ESI-MS/MS method of simultaneously determining acesulfame-K, saccharin, sucralose, cyclamate, and the excretory metabolite of steviol glycosides, steviol glucuronide, in human urine was developed and validated. Linearity was observed over a concentration range of 10-1000 ng/mL with coefficients of determination ranging from 0.9969 to 0.9997. Accuracy ranged from 92 to 104%, and intrabatch and interday precisions were within acceptable limits with %CV below 8% for all compounds. A double-blind, randomized crossover dose-response study was conducted to assess the usefulness of urinary LCS excretions (from both fasting spot and a full 24-h urine collection) for investigating recent intakes. Both modes of sampling were useful for distinguishing between the three short-term intakes of acesulfame-K, saccharin, cyclamates, and steviol glycosides (p < 0.001), whereas for sucralose, urinary concentrations were useful for distinguishing between low (0.1% ADI) and high doses (10% ADI) only (p < 0.001). In summary, this biomarker approach may be useful for assessing intakes of five commonly consumed LCSs.

Topics: Biomarkers; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Cyclamates; Diterpenes, Kaurane; Humans; Saccharin; Sucrose; Sweetening Agents; Tandem Mass Spectrometry; Thiazines; Urine