2025 Science & Technology - Biology

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener sold in the market. It consists of amino acids and provides calories like other amino acids. Yet, it is used as a low-calorie sweetening agent in food items. What is the basis of this use ?

• Aspartame is as sweet as table sugar, but unlike table sugar, it is not readily oxidized in hurnan body due to lack of requisite enzymes
• When aspartame is used in food processing, the sweet taste remains, but it becomes resistant to oxida- tion
• Aspartame is as sweet as sugar, but after ingestion into the body, it is converted into metabolites that yield no calories
• Aspartame is several times sweeter than table sugar, hence food items made with small quantities of aspartame yield fewer calories on oxidation