In 1965, a lab technician from Hillel Pharmaceuticals, LLC, wiped his mouth without washing his hands while researching and developing gastric ulcer medication, and as a result, discovered methyl aspartyl phenylalanine, commonly known as aspartame, which is 200 times sweeter than sucrose, and which is often used in beverages due to its poor heat stability.
Later, people did something to aspartame to make it 7,000-13,000 times sweeter than sucrose, commonly known as neotame, which is currently the sweetest food additive....
1. Safety
Neotame is made from aspartame, and its properties are similar to aspartame in many ways. There has been a great deal of controversy about the side effects of aspartame, one of which has been identified as being that aspartame produces phenylalanine when metabolized in the body, making it unsuitable for intake by people with phenylketonuria and requiring special notation in the label. Because neotame is used in smaller quantities than aspartame, and because neotame molecules contain the 3,3-dimethylbutyl group, which almost completely blocks the function of the peptidase enzyme and thus reduces the formation of phenylalanine, neotame does not need to be specially labeled when it is added to food products. According to neotime's research report, Newt's Sweet is metabolized in the body and de-esterified to form de-esterified Newt's Sweet and trace amounts of methanol, which is quickly cleared from the plasma, and finally excreted completely from the feces and urine.
2. Application in food
①Application in all kinds of beverages
a. Carbonated beverages
Neotame can be used in cola-type carbonated beverages for 16 weeks, which is the same as the shelf life of low energy carbonated beverages sold in the market, and it can also be used in lemonade, root juice and other beverages.
b. Non-carbonated beverages
Neotame can be used in hot-filled lemon tea, solid powdered beverages, yogurt and other foods, and in these foods are very stable and good quality.
②Application in dairy products
Neotime can be used in dairy products, ice cream and other frozen desserts, when used in such products, when the end of the shelf life of such products, it was found that only 2% of the loss of neotime, which has no impact on the acceptability of the product, while other sweet wattle rarely reach this level, neotime is particularly suitable for the production of yogurt.
③Application in baked goods
Unlike aspartame, neotame can be stabilized under the condition of instantaneous high temperature, so it can be used in all kinds of baked foods such as cookies, cakes, chocolate cakes, etc. For example, in the production of cakes, after 4 hours, neotame can be stabilized under the condition of instantaneous high temperature. For example, in the production of cake, after baking at a high temperature of 450 ℃, 85% of the neotame still exists; and at 25 ℃, relative humidity of 60% of the place of storage for 5d, there is only 4% of the loss of neotame, in fact, even if the loss of 20% will not have an impact on the product.
④Application in chewing gum
Since the energy value of neotame is almost 0, and does not produce dental caries, it is suitable for the production of sugar-free chewing gum, which is not only suitable for diabetics, but also has no damaging effect on teeth. The stability of Nutella in chewing gum can be improved by microencapsulation, and the two-layer coating of modified starch and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose can keep it from degrading during 52 weeks of storage.
⑤ Applications in tabletop sweeteners
Because it is not hygroscopic and has low energy, it is very suitable for use as a tabletop sweetener. Studies have shown that it can be stored for at least 156 weeks when used as a tabletop sweetener.
⑥Application in Ice Cream
Ice cream made with Neotame has excellent solubility characteristics and structure, and its sweetness is pure without aftertaste. Unlike aspartame, neotame can be used with certain reducing sugars, such as glucose, fructose, lactose, etc.; it can also be used with aldehyde-based flavor substances, such as vanilla. It can also be used together with aldehyde-based flavor substances, such as vanilla, cinnamon, lemon and so on. Used in candy, cereal, jelly and other products, research shows that the application of Neotame in these foods have good characteristics.
3.How to improve solubility in water
Although neotame has many excellent properties, but its solubility in water is not high, and the dissolution rate is small, to a certain extent, limit the application of neotame in food production.
In general, 0.05 to 0.19 neotame takes 5 to 7 min (observed with the naked eye) to completely dissolve in 100 mL of water, 0.1 to 0.2 g of neotame takes 5 to 8 min (observed with the naked eye) to completely dissolve in 100 mL of water, and 1 g of neotame takes about 45 min to completely dissolve in 100 mL of water.
Since neotame is often used in aqueous solutions and beverages, improving the solubility and dissolution rate of neotame in water is of great significance for expanding the scope of neotame application in industry and increasing its economic value. The following introduces several methods to improve the solubility of neotame in water.
(1) Neotame and hydrochloric acid compound
Take a certain amount of neotame and add it into water, mix it thoroughly until it becomes slurry, then slowly add equal amount of hydrochloric acid into it, after about 10mins, all the solids will be dissolved, and then freeze-dry the clarified solution to get a white solid, with a yield of 99.7%.
Compared with the starting material, neotame, the product showed great water solubility, and it took only 70 s for 1 g of the product to completely dissolve in 100 mL of water.
(2) Neotame and phosphoric acid compound
Take a certain amount of neotame dissolved in water, stirring to make it a slurry, and then add equal moles of 85% phosphoric acid solution, after all the solids are dissolved, the solution will be freeze-dried, the resulting product is a white solid, the yield is 98%. The water solubility of the product has been greatly improved, 0.1g of the product in less than 30s can be completely melted in 100mL of water (visual observation).
(3) neotame and citric acid composite
A certain amount of neotame dissolved in acetone, slowly add equimolar citric acid aqueous solution, and then add the appropriate amount of acetone can form a clear colorless solution, the solution stirred for 1h, and then the acetone distillation under reduced pressure to remove the rest of the slurry can be obtained by freeze-drying the white solid. 0.1g of such a white solid in 90s dissolved in 100mL of water (observed with the naked eye).
(4）Neotame and sodium bicarbonate compound
Dissolve a certain amount of sodium bicarbonate in water, add equal moles of neotame, the obtained slurry liquid stirring for 24h can be clarified solution, freeze-drying to obtain a white solid that is the target product. 0.1g of white solid instantly can be completely dissolved in 100mL of water (naked eye observation).
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