. 2022 Mar 8;31(4):387–398. doi: 10.1007/s10068-022-01046-7

Table 2.

Summary of alternative sweeteners

Category	Sweetener name	Description (chemical formula)	Sweetness intensity	Nutritive/Nonnutritive	Properties
Artificial high intensity	Sucrose	Main component of beet and cane sugar (C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁)	1	4 kcal/g	Heat stable; M_p (melting point) = 186 °C
	Acesulfame K (Ace K)	The potassium salt of acesulfame (C₄H₄KNO₄S)	200	Non-nutritive	Heat stable; M_p is greater than 200 °C; slightly bitter aftertaste
	Aspartame	A methyl ester of the aspartic acid (C₁₄H₁₈N₂O₅)	200	Nutritive	Not heat stable— decomposes before melting; Some solubility issues; May have bitter or off-flavor aftertastes
	Saccharin	N-sulfonylcarboxamide (C₇H₅NO₃S)	200–700	Non-nutritive	Heat stable; M_p is greater than 300 °C; Bitter or metallic aftertaste
	Sucralose	Derivation of sucrose from chlorination (C₁₂H₁₉Cl₃O₈)	600	Non-nutritive	Heat stable up to 125 °C
Natural high intensity	Steviol glycosides (Stevia)	Derivation from the leaves of the plant species Stevia rebaudiana	200–400	Non-nutritive	Heat stable up to 205 °C Some solubility issues; Bitter or licorice-like aftertaste
Natural high intensity	Siraitia grosvenorii Swingle (Luo Han Guo/Monk) fruit extracts	Mainly mogrosides from the flesh of the Monk fruit	250–400	Non-nutritive	Heat stable; M_p = 197–201 °C
Bulking; Sugar alcohols	Sorbitol	Reduction of glucose; isomer of mannitol (C₆H₁₄O)	0.5	2.6 kcal/g	Heat stable M_p = 97 °C; Sugar alcohols do not contribute to browning
	Erythritol	Derivation made from corn using enzymes and fermentation (C₄H₁₀O₄)	0.7	0.2 kcal/g—Non-nutritive	Heat stable; M_p = 121 °C
	Xylitol (Birch sugar)	Naturally occurring in small amounts in plums, strawberries, cauliflower, and pumpkin (C₅H₁₂O₅)	1.0	2.4 kcal/g	Heat stable; M_p = 94 °C
Rare sugars	Allulose	A low-calorie epimer of the monosaccharide sugar fructose (C₆H₁₂O₆)	0.7	0.4 kcal/g	Heat stable; May contribute to browning; M_p = 110 °C
Rare sugars	Tagatose	A natural sweetener present in only small amounts in fruits, cacao, and dairy products (C₆H₁₂O₆)	0.9	1.5 kcal/g	Heat stable; M_p = 135 °C

Information summarized from (Chattopadhyay et al., 2014; FDA, 2018, 2020c; Grembecka, 2015; Mitchell, 2007; O’Donnell & Kearsley, 2012; Shankar et al., 2013)