Title: Alternative Sweeteners

Erythritol 241
used to obtain the desired sweetness contributions from erythritol and from an
intense sweetener. It also shows the percent synergy at these ratios. For example,
to attain 1:99 sweetness ratio, a weight of erythritol that would give an equivalent
of 1% sweetness to the mixture was added to preweighed aspartame contributing
99% of the sweetness. These were dissolved in water, and the intensity of sweetness
was determined by a trained panel. Results show that there is a synergistic
effect when erythritol is combined with aspartame to obtain 85:15, 95:5, and
99:1 sweetness blends (Table 4). With acesulfame K, this synergy was observed
starting with a 15:85 sweetness ratio and at higher levels of erythritol. This intensification
of sweetness was not obtained when sucrose was used instead of erythritol
(24). Blending erythritol with intense sweeteners like aspartame or acesulfame
K has a lot of potential applications in beverage and food formulations.
B. Cooling Effect
All polyols exhibit negative heats of solution. Energy is needed to dissolve the
polyol crystals, thus they absorb the surrounding energy, resulting in a lowering
of the temperature or a cooling of the solution. This property is likewise observed
when the dry powder of polyol is dissolved in the mouth. This creates a cooling
sensation in the mouth. The degree of cooling primarily depends on the magnitude
of the heat of solution. As shown in Table 2, the cooling effect ranges from
none to very cool, which can be directly related to the magnitudes of the heat
of solution. It appears that this cooling effect is only slightly detected or not
perceived at all if the heat of solution values are equal to or greater than 79 kJ/
kg. Heats of solution lower than this value give a cooling effect while values at
about 153 kJ/kg exhibit a strong cooling sensation (e.g., xylitol). As shown in
Table 2, this cooling effect is not observed for maltitol, isomalt, and sucrose and
only slightly for lactitol. Erythritol imparts a moderate cooling effect in the
mouth. This property is advantageous for food and pharmaceutical applications
when the cooling effect is desired or is an intrinsic property of the product such
as in food formulations containing peppermint or menthol. The cooling sensation
is also beneficial in pharmaceutical preparations requiring soothing effects (e.g.,
lozenges, cough drops, throat medication, breath mints).
C. Solubility and Hygroscopicity
Erythritol is moderately soluble in water unlike sucrose and other polyols (xylitol,
sorbitol, maltitol, and lactitol), which are quite soluble in water. Mannitol and
isomalt are less soluble in water than erythritol. Erythritol’s reduced affinity for
water is reflected in its sorption isotherm (Fig. 3). Figure 3 also shows the isotherm
of sucrose for comparative purposes. The sorption isotherms were determined
using an SGA-100 water sorption analyzer (VTI Corporation, FL). The
change in weight of a completely dried erythritol powder was monitored at 25°C