Title: Alternative Sweeteners

Neohesperidin Dihydrochalcone 99
they were limited to one single product or studied foods and beverages with
unrealistically high sweetener concentrations. An analytical method to detect and
quantitate neohesperidine DC in foodstuffs has been developed and validated,
yielding adequate results in terms of precision, accuracy, selectivity, and ruggedness
to quantitate neohesperidine DC both at flavoring and sweetening use levels
in soft drinks (89). The method has successfully been assayed also in complex
foods such as dairy products, confectionery, and fat-based foods that require selective
extraction of the sweetener with appropriate solvents (dimethyl sulfoxide,
methanol, and their blends with water). Acceptable recoveries (90%) were
found in all tested samples both at flavoring and sweetening use levels. This
method provides sufficient separation between the neohesperidine DC peak and
the corresponding hydrolysis acid products.
Neohesperidine DC is used as a minor component of sweetener blends and
therefore at very low concentrations. However, HPLC techniques allow detection
and quantitation of neohesperidine DC at levels below those that are normally
used for sweetening and flavoring purposes. Thus, detection and quantitation limits
for neohesperidine DC, determined by the method based on the standard deviation
of the response and the slope, are 0.2 and 0.7 mg/l, respectively. These values
are below the minimum concentration, which shows a technological function in
the final food.
Usually, extraction in dimethyl sulfoxide or alcohols is sufficient for selective
extraction of neohesperidine DC; however, adsorption of neohesperidine DC
onto Amberlite XAD and subsequent fractionation on Sephadex were judged to
be essential steps for successful quantitation of neohesperidine DC in blackcurrant
jam because of the fact that anthocyanin-related compounds may interfere
with neohesperidine DC in crude extracts (36).
VIII. AVAILABILITY AND PATENT SITUATION
Neohesperidine DC is produced in industrial scale by Zoster, S. A. and marketed
worldwide by Exquim, S. A. under the tradename of Citrosa ® . Both companies
belong to the pharmaceutical group Ferrer Internacional, S. A.
The original patents, which covered the manufacture of neohesperidine DC,
have expired, although neohesperidine DC has a patent portfolio that covers its
use and applications (63, 64, 68).
DEDICATION
This chapter is dedicated to the memory of Prof. Dr. Francisco Sabater Garcia.