What Does an Artificial Sweetener Consist of?
Artificial sweeteners are substances that are used as substitutes for sugar. They are used to sweeten foods and beverages. The chemical formula for sugar (sucrose) is C12H22O11. Sucrose has polar covalent bonds. This means that it has positive and negative ends called dipole-dipole forces. Because of its polar covalent bonds, sucrose is able to dissolve in water.
Artificial sweeteners are used all over the world, however, there is much controversy.
Do the health concerns outweigh the benefits?
There are many different types of artificial sweeteners. Some well-known examples include: Aspartame, Sucralose, Acesulfame-Potassium and Saccharin. These sweeteners are found in brands such as Sweet' N Low, Splenda and Equal.
Each artificial sweetener has its own pros and cons. Two main, very controversial examples are Sucralose and Aspartame.
Sucralose
Sucralose starts off as sucrose (regular sugar), but consists of three chlorine atoms that replace three hydrogen-oxygen groups of the sucrose molecule ("Everything You Need to Know About Sucralose"). The chemical formula for Sucralose is C12H19Cl3O8. The illustration of the model above and the chemical formula display the differences between sucrose and Sucralose and it shows that the hydrogen and oxygen groups are replaced by the chlorine atoms. These newly added chlorine atoms allow most of the sweetener to pass through the body without being absorbed, thus, no calories are added to the body (Obringer). This sweetener can withstand high temperatures and is usually used to bake or cook with. Many studies and experiments have been conducted to test the risks of this product and scientists have found it does not prove to be a threat. ("Everything You Need to Know About Sucralose"). Sucralose is not as dangerous or controversial as Aspartame, because it derived from sucrose, however, studies have shown that one of the substances that results from the break down of Sucralose when digested is "weakly mutagenic in the Ames Test" (A test that screens for carcinogens) (Obringer). This substance could be hazardous.
Sucralose's molecular structure is "hydrophilic." This means that it is highly soluble in water (Harth).
Aspartame
Aspartame is composed of 40% aspartic acid, 50% phenylalanine and 10% methyl alcohol ("How Stuff Works"). Its chemical formula is C14H18N2O5. This sweetener is up to 200 times sweeter than regular sugar. People with the illness of Phenylketonuria (PKU) should avoid Aspartame because it could cause mental illness for these people if consumed. The reason being is, the phenylalanine builds up in the body because people with PKU lack the chemical needed to break it down ("How Stuff Works").
Aspartame breaks down in heat, this is why it is generally not cooked or baked with ("Aspartame"). In Aspartame, different types of bonds occur. The C-H and C-C bonds are covalent because the electronegativity of the C-H bond is 0.4 and the electronegativity of the C-C bonds are 0. The C=O (Electronegativity 0.8), C-O (Electronegativity 0.8), N-H (Electronegativity 0.8) and C-N (Electronegativity 0.4) are all considered polar covalent. These bonds are seen in the molecular compound diagram above. Aspartame's melting point is 248-250 degrees celsius, which is very high and shows signs of being an ionic compound as well (Peterson). Aspartame's molecules are difficult to separate from each other which means that Aspartame has strong intermolecular forces between the molecules and because some of the bonds are slightly polar covalent, this means that the molecules have dipole-dipole forces. These strong intermolecular forces are also because of the attraction between the positively charged -NH3 and negatively charged -COO (Peterson). This is seen in the digram below.
Artificial sweeteners are used all over the world, however, there is much controversy.
Do the health concerns outweigh the benefits?
There are many different types of artificial sweeteners. Some well-known examples include: Aspartame, Sucralose, Acesulfame-Potassium and Saccharin. These sweeteners are found in brands such as Sweet' N Low, Splenda and Equal.
Each artificial sweetener has its own pros and cons. Two main, very controversial examples are Sucralose and Aspartame.
Sucralose
Sucralose starts off as sucrose (regular sugar), but consists of three chlorine atoms that replace three hydrogen-oxygen groups of the sucrose molecule ("Everything You Need to Know About Sucralose"). The chemical formula for Sucralose is C12H19Cl3O8. The illustration of the model above and the chemical formula display the differences between sucrose and Sucralose and it shows that the hydrogen and oxygen groups are replaced by the chlorine atoms. These newly added chlorine atoms allow most of the sweetener to pass through the body without being absorbed, thus, no calories are added to the body (Obringer). This sweetener can withstand high temperatures and is usually used to bake or cook with. Many studies and experiments have been conducted to test the risks of this product and scientists have found it does not prove to be a threat. ("Everything You Need to Know About Sucralose"). Sucralose is not as dangerous or controversial as Aspartame, because it derived from sucrose, however, studies have shown that one of the substances that results from the break down of Sucralose when digested is "weakly mutagenic in the Ames Test" (A test that screens for carcinogens) (Obringer). This substance could be hazardous.
Sucralose's molecular structure is "hydrophilic." This means that it is highly soluble in water (Harth).
Aspartame
Aspartame is composed of 40% aspartic acid, 50% phenylalanine and 10% methyl alcohol ("How Stuff Works"). Its chemical formula is C14H18N2O5. This sweetener is up to 200 times sweeter than regular sugar. People with the illness of Phenylketonuria (PKU) should avoid Aspartame because it could cause mental illness for these people if consumed. The reason being is, the phenylalanine builds up in the body because people with PKU lack the chemical needed to break it down ("How Stuff Works").
Aspartame breaks down in heat, this is why it is generally not cooked or baked with ("Aspartame"). In Aspartame, different types of bonds occur. The C-H and C-C bonds are covalent because the electronegativity of the C-H bond is 0.4 and the electronegativity of the C-C bonds are 0. The C=O (Electronegativity 0.8), C-O (Electronegativity 0.8), N-H (Electronegativity 0.8) and C-N (Electronegativity 0.4) are all considered polar covalent. These bonds are seen in the molecular compound diagram above. Aspartame's melting point is 248-250 degrees celsius, which is very high and shows signs of being an ionic compound as well (Peterson). Aspartame's molecules are difficult to separate from each other which means that Aspartame has strong intermolecular forces between the molecules and because some of the bonds are slightly polar covalent, this means that the molecules have dipole-dipole forces. These strong intermolecular forces are also because of the attraction between the positively charged -NH3 and negatively charged -COO (Peterson). This is seen in the digram below.