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aspartame

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
aspartame /as·par·tame/ (ah-spahr´tām) (as´pahr-tām″) an artificial sweetener about 200 times as sweet as sucrose and used as a low-calorie sweetener.
as·par·tame (spr-tm, -spär-)
n.
A low-calorie, artificial sweetening agent derived from aspartic acid.

aspartame
[aspär′tām, as′pərtām]
a white, almost odorless crystalline powder that is used as an artificial sweetener. It is formed by binding the amino acids of phenylalanine and aspartic acid. Approximately 180 times as sweet as the same amount of sucrose, it is used mostly to sweeten cold or uncooked foods. Unprotected aspartame tends to lose its sweetness in the presence of heat, moisture, and alkaline media. Excessive use of this nonnutritive sweetener should be avoided by patients with phenylketonuria (PKU) because the substance hydrolyzes to form aspartate and phenylalanine.

Aspartame
An artificial sweetener that is a dipeptide ester of aspartic acid and phenylalanine, which was discovered in 1965 and approved by the FDA in 1983; it may be safer than saccharin except in patients with phenylketonuria
Adverse reactions Rare, with large amounts—mild depression, headaches, insomnia, loss of motor control, nausea, seizures, and possibly brain cancer

aspartame [ah-spar´tām]
a synthetic compound of two amino acids, used as a low-calorie sweetener. It is 180 times as sweet as sucrose (table sugar); the amount equal in sweetness to a teaspoon of sugar contains 0.1 calorie. Aspartame does not promote the formation of dental caries. The amount of phenylalanine it contains must be taken into account in the low-phenylalanine diet of patients with phenylketonuria.

aspartame (as´prtām),
n brand name: NutriSweet, a low-calorie sweetening agent about 200 times as sweet as sucrose.

aspartame
a synthetic compound of two amino acids (l-aspartyl-l-phenylalanine o-methyl ester) used as sweetener in low-calorie drinks. It is 180 times as sweet as sucrose (table sugar); the amount equal in sweetness to a teaspoon of sugar contains 0.1 calorie.

aspartame
Nutrasweet® An artificial sweetener/ester of aspartic acid and phenylalanine; it may be safer than saccharin except in Pts with phenylketonuria Adverse reactions Rare, with large amounts–mild depression, headaches, insomnia, loss of motor control, nausea, seizures, etc, and possibly brain cancer. See Artificial sweeteners. Cf Aspartate, Cyclamate.


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However, the safety of the synthetic sweetener aspartame that can be found in many soft drinks is still disputed and thousands of people have reported adverse effects which include seizures, diarrhoea, insomnia and headaches.
5 June 2009 - A recently-published study by the ADA Evidence Analysis Library has come to the conclusion that using aspartame as a sweetener has no effect on appetite or food intake.
Byline: Craig Lennox Q IS Aspartame in diet drinks and foods dangerous for my scleroderma condition?
 
 
 
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