Approaching Chemistry: is sorbitol the same as aspartame?

The sweetener has a broad definition, which refers to any material that can make a food taste sweet. Sorbitol and aspartame both belong to sweeteners, but few people can distinguish them. What is sorbitol and what is aspartame? Is sorbitol the same as aspartame? In order to clarify the similarities and differences between them, let's talk about the classification of sweeteners first.

The classification of sweeteners

Sweeteners can be divided into nutritive and in-nutritive sweeteners according to their nutritional value. Nutritive sweeteners are both sweet and caloric, which contain two categories: a class of sugar, and another large class is sugar alcohol. I assume you are all familiar with the term “sugar”, as in glucose, fructose, maltose, and so on. Sugar alcohols include calories from sugar or sugar derivatives like sorbitol. It has approximately 2-3 calories per gram. Non-nutritive sweeteners supply either no energy (calories) or very little energy. They are divided into two categories: artificial sweeteners like aspartame, and natural sweeteners such as rosmarinic acid.

What is sorbitol?

Sorbitol belongs to the nutritive sweetener. It is a natural plant sweetener with a pleasant flavor which is frequently used in chewing gum or sugar-free chocolates. It still creates calories after eating, therefore it is a nutritive sweetener. However, the calories are only 2.6 calories/g (about 65% of sucrose). And its sweetness is about half of sucrose. Sorbitol can be produced by the reduction of glucose. It is widely found in fruits, such as apples, peaches, dates, plums pears, and other natural foods. Its sweetness is comparable to that of glucose, but it has a richer flavor. This kind of sweetener can be slowly absorbed in the body with no increase in blood glucose levels. Moreover, it’s also an ideal moisturizer and surfactant.

What is aspartame?

Aspartame is a non-nutritive sweetener, which is a non-carbohydrate artificial sweetener that contains 1/200 the calories of sucrose. With low calories and high sweetness, it has become popular in beverages and snacks such as sugar-free cola and chewing gum. Sugar-free food, especially sugar-free drinks, is becoming growing in popularity among consumers. The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a new non-sugar sweetener guideline in May of this year, advising against the use of non-sugar sweeteners for weight control while highlighting the low-certainty evidence that long-term use of non-sugar sweeteners (the National Security Service) may have potential adverse effects.

Is sorbitol the same as aspartame？

Sorbitol and aspartame are both classified as sweeteners; however, they fall into separate categories. Sorbitol is a nutritive sweetener while aspartame is an in-nutritive sweetener. Therefore, they differ in terms of calories and taste, as well as healthiness.

In terms of calories, sorbitol contains 2.6 KJ/g of calories, which is approximately 65% of sucrose. It is mainly used in the manufacture of vitamin C. Aspartame has a calorie amount of 4,186 KJ/kg, which is approximately 1/200 that of sucrose. Therefore, it is widely used in sugar-free beverages, chewing gum, and yogurt. It can be seen that aspartame contains much fewer calories than sorbitol.

As for sweetness, sorbitol is about half the sweetness of an equivalent amount of sucrose, and its sweetness is comparable to that of glucose, but it provides an intense flavor. In contrast, aspartame is 200 times sweeter than sucrose. Given its low-calorie and high-sweetness properties, it is widely used in the food industry.

In terms of safety, sorbitol is one of the first sugar alcohols to be approved as a food additive in Japan. In human trials, long-term sorbitol consumption of 40g/d has no effect on individuals. As for the safety of aspartame, it was recently classified as a probable human carcinogen (2B) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) under the World Health Organization. Recently, numerous international health organizations and regulatory bodies have conducted extensive assessments and studies on it, concluding that consumption of aspartame is safe when kept within the prescribed limit of 40 mg/kg BW.

Conclusion

Is sorbitol the same as aspartame？According to the above we can know the answer is no. Although both are classified as sweeteners, there is a substantial difference in calories and sweetness. As for the safety of these two sweeteners, minimal consumption has no harmful effects.