Determination of aspartame and alitame in liquid dairy products and milk-containing beverages in the Chinese market
Main Article Content
Keywords
alitame, aspartame, HPLC, liquid dairy products, milk-containing beverages
Abstract
Aspartame and alitame are a type of food additives commonly used in recent years. However, it is difficult to conclude that long-term use of synthetic sweeteners is completely harmless. This study aimed to establish a simple high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method to detect these two sweeteners, and to measure the concentrations of sweeteners in liquid dairy products and milk-containing beverages in the Chinese market. In this experiment, aspartame and alitame had a good linearity, and the average recovery values were also good with the relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 0.4–2.2%. The limits of detections (LODs) were 0.52 and 0.48 µg g–1 for aspartame and alitame, respectively. According to consumer daily purchase habits, 100 samples were purchased from supermarkets and milk tea shops in Jinan, China. The results showed that the amount of sweeteners added in all samples did not exceed the national standards, but there was a problem that the food label content was incomplete. We hope that the relevant departments would strengthen supervision and management of food labelling, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.
References
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Burke, M.V. and Small, D.M., 2015. Physiological mechanisms by which non-nutritive sweeteners may impact body weight and metabolism. Physiology and Behavior 152: 381–388. 10.1016/j.physbeh.2015.05.036
Chen, J. and Li, W., 2006. Simultaneous determination of aspartame and alitame in food by high performance liquid chromatography. Chinese Journal of Health Laboratory Technology 16(9): 1069–1070. 10.3969/j.issn.1004-8685.2006.09.019
Gao, Y., Zhang, P., Du, G., Li, S. and Zhao, H., 2018. Effects of artificial sweeteners on human health. Food Science 39: 285–290. 10.7506/spkx1002-6630-201807042
GB 2760-2014. Hygienic standards for uses of foods additives (China). Available at: https://gb2760.cfsa.net.cn
GB 2805-2011. General principles for nutrition labelling of pre-packaged food (China). Available at: http://down.foodmate.net/standard/yulan.php?itemid=50415
Jin, B., 2020. Determination of aspartame and alitame in drinks by UHPLC. Analytical Instrumentation 2020(4): 30–33. 10.3969/j.issn.1001-232x.2020.04.006
Kim, H.J., Hann, H.J., Hong, S.N., Kim, K.H., Ahn, I.M., Song, J.Y., Lee, S.H. and Ahn, H.S., 2015. Incidence and natural course of inflammatory bowel disease in Korea, 2006–2012: A nationwide population-based study. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases 21: 623–630. 10.1097/Mib.0000000000000313
Lin, H., Oturan, N., Wu, J., Sharma, V.K., Zhang, H. and Oturan, M.A., 2017. Removal of artificial sweetener aspartame from aqueous media by electrochemical advanced oxidation processes. Chemosphere 167: 220–227. 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.09.143
Liu, Y., Liu, L., Yan, C. and Li, D., 2012. Determination of content of aspartame in tea beverages by HPLC. Modern Food Science and Technology 28: 1810–1812. 10.13982/j.mfst.1673-9078.2012.12.009
Lu, Y., Wang, L., Liu, Y., Ren, B., Liu, M. and Yun, P., 2021. Determination of 9 kinds of sweeteners and preservatives in bakery products by ultra performance liquid chromatography. Journal of Food Safety and Quality 12: 1725–1730. 10.19812/j.cnki.jfsq11-5956/ts.2021.05.018
Malik, V.S., Popkin, B.M., Bray, G.A., Despres, J.P. and Hu, F.B., 2010. Sugar-sweetened beverages, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular disease risk. Circulation 121: 1356–1364. 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.876185
Mao, W. and Song, Y., 2018. Major problems and hazards in use of sweeteners commonly found in foods. Journal of food science and technology 36: 9–14. 10.3969/j.issn.2095-6002.2018.06.002
Marion-Letellier, R., Amamou, A., Savoye, G. and Ghosh, S., 2019. Inflammatory bowel diseases and food additives: to add fuel on the flames! Nutrients 11(5): 1111. 10.3390/nu11051111
Nakhimovsky, S.S., Feigl, A.B., Avila, C., O’Sullivan, G., Macgregor-Skinner, E. and Spranca, M., 2016. Taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages to reduce overweight and obesity in middle-income countries: a systematic review. PLoS One 11: e0163358. 10.1371/journal.pone.0163358
Ng, S.C., Bernstein, C.N., Vatn, M.H., Lakatos, P.L., Loftus, E.V., Jr., Tysk, C., O’Morain, C., Moum, B. and Colombel, J.F., 2013. Geographical variability and environmental risk factors in inflammatory bowel disease. Gut 62: 630–649. 10.1136/gutjnl-2012-303661
Olivier-Van Stichelen, S., Rother, K.I. and Hanover, J.A., 2019. Maternal exposure to non-nutritive sweeteners impacts progeny’s metabolism and microbiome. Frontiers in Microbiology 10: 1360. 10.3389/fmicb.2019.01360
Palatnik, A., Moosreiner, A. and Olivier-Van Stichelen, S., 2020. Consumption of non-nutritive sweeteners during pregnancy. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 223: 211–218. 10.1016/j.ajog.2020.03.034
Pinget, G., Tan, J., Janac, B., Kaakoush, N.O., Angelatos, A.S., O’Sullivan, J., Koay, Y.C., Sierro, F., Davis, J., Divakarla, S.K., Khanal, D., Moore, R.J., Stanley, D., Chrzanowski, W., Macia, L., 2019. Impact of the food additive titanium dioxide (E171) on gut microbiota-host interaction. Frontiers in Nutrition 6: 57. 10.3389/fnut.2019.00057
Plows, J.F., Morton-Jones, J., Bridge-Comer, P.E., Ponnampalam, A., Stanley, J.L., Vickers, M.H. and Reynolds, C.M., 2020. Consumption of the artificial sweetener acesulfame potassium throughout pregnancy induces glucose intolerance and adipose tissue dysfunction in mice. Journal of Nutrition 150: 1773–1781. 10.1093/jn/nxaa106
Praveena, S.M., Cheema, M.S. and Guo, H.R., 2019. Non-nutritive artificial sweeteners as an emerging contaminant in environment: a global review and risks perspectives. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 170: 699–707. 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2018.12.048
Purohit, V. and Mishra, S., 2018. The truth about artificial sweeteners–are they good for diabetics? Indian Heart Journal 70: 197–199. 10.1016/j.ihj.2018.01.020
Rico-Campa, A., Martinez-Gonzalez, M.A., Alvarez-Alvarez, I., Mendonca, R.D., de la Fuente-Arrillaga, C., Gomez-Donoso, C. and Bes-Rastrollo, M., 2019. Association between consumption of ultra-processed foods and all cause mortality: SUN prospective cohort study. British Medical Journal 365: l1949. 10.1136/bmj.l1949
Rinninella, E., Cintoni, M., Raoul, P., Lopetuso, L.R., Scaldaferri, F., Pulcini, G., Miggiano, G.A.D., Gasbarrini, A. and Mele, M.C., 2019. Food components and dietary habits: keys for a healthy gut microbiota composition. Nutrients 11(10): 2393. 10.3390/nu11102393
Sathyapalan, T., Thatcher, N.J., Hammersley, R., Rigby, A.S., Courts, F.L., Pechlivanis, A., Gooderham, N.J., et al., 2015. Aspartame sensitivity? A double blind randomised crossover study. PLoS One 10: e0116212. 10.1371/journal.pone.0116212
Seo, P.W., Khan, N.A., Hasan, Z. and Jhung, S.H., 2016. Adsorptive removal of artificial sweeteners from water using metal-organic frameworks functionalized with urea or melamine. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 8: 29799–29807. 10.1021/acsami.6b11115
Suez, J., Korem, T., Zeevi, D., Zilberman-Schapira, G., Thaiss, C.A., Maza, O., et al., 2014. Artificial sweeteners induce glucose intolerance by altering the gut microbiota. Nature 514: 181–186. 10.1038/nature13793
Swidsinski, A., Ung, V., Sydora, B.C., Loening-Baucke, V., Doerffel, Y., Verstraelen, H. and Fedorok, R.N., 2009. Bacterial overgrowth and inflammation of small intestine after carboxymethylcellulose ingestion in genetically susceptible mice. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases 15: 359–364. 10.1002/ibd.20763
Tang, J.W., Yuan, L.J., Xiao, Y., Wang, X. and Wang, S.X., 2019. Simultaneous determination of nine artificial sweeteners in food by solid-phase extraction coupled with high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Chinese Journal of Chromatography 37: 619–625. 10.3724/Sp.J.1123.2019.01012
Wang, J. and Shen, S., 2019. Food sweeteners and their applications. China Food Safety Magazine 2019(9): 183–188.
Wang, L., Ke, R., An, H., Yang, C., Shan, S. and Yin, J., 2019. Simultaneous determination of sweeteners, preservatives and pigments in grape wine by HPLC-MS/MS. Liquor-Making Science and Technology 2019(1): 120–125. 10.13746/j.njkj.2018236
WHO, 2015. Guideline: sugars intake for adults and children. Available at: https://www.who.int/publications-detail/9789241549028.
Xie, L., Zhu, H. and Ge, F., 2011. Determination of alitame in beverages by ion chromatography. Physical Testing and Chemical Analysis (Part B:Chemical Analysis) 47: 919–920+923. 10.3724/SP.J.1105.2011.10085
Yang, D.J. and Chen, B., 2009. Simultaneous determination of nonnutritive sweeteners in foods by HPLC/ESI-MS. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 57: 3022–3027. 10.1021/jf803988u
Yu, J., Zheng, Y., Zeng, L., Zhou, X., Li, Q., Wang, H. and Zhang, J., 2018. Determination of acesulfame potassium, saccharin sodium, aspartame, alitame, neotame and stevioside by ultra-performance liquid chromatography. China Food Additives 2018(7): 127–131. 10.3969/j.issn.1006-2513.2018.07.012
Zaeem, Z., Zhou, L. and Dilli, E., 2016. Headaches: a review of the role of dietary factors. Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports 16(11): 101. 10.1007/s11910-016-0702–1
Zhao, H. and Wang, X., 2018. Human health risks of artificial sweeteners. Journal of Food Science and Technology 36: 15–20. 10.3969/j.issn.2095-6002.2018.06.003
Zhu, Y., Guo, Y.Y., Ye, M.L. and James, F.S., 2005. Separation and simultaneous determination of four artificial sweeteners in food and beverages by ion chromatography. Journal of Chromatography A 1085: 143–146. 10.1016/j.chroma.2004.12.042
Zuo, T., Kamm, M.A., Colombel, J.F. and Ng, S.C., 2018. Urbanization and the gut microbiota in health and inflammatory bowel disease. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology and Hepatology 15: 440–452. 10.1038/s41575-018-0003-z
Burke, M.V. and Small, D.M., 2015. Physiological mechanisms by which non-nutritive sweeteners may impact body weight and metabolism. Physiology and Behavior 152: 381–388. 10.1016/j.physbeh.2015.05.036
Chen, J. and Li, W., 2006. Simultaneous determination of aspartame and alitame in food by high performance liquid chromatography. Chinese Journal of Health Laboratory Technology 16(9): 1069–1070. 10.3969/j.issn.1004-8685.2006.09.019
Gao, Y., Zhang, P., Du, G., Li, S. and Zhao, H., 2018. Effects of artificial sweeteners on human health. Food Science 39: 285–290. 10.7506/spkx1002-6630-201807042
GB 2760-2014. Hygienic standards for uses of foods additives (China). Available at: https://gb2760.cfsa.net.cn
GB 2805-2011. General principles for nutrition labelling of pre-packaged food (China). Available at: http://down.foodmate.net/standard/yulan.php?itemid=50415
Jin, B., 2020. Determination of aspartame and alitame in drinks by UHPLC. Analytical Instrumentation 2020(4): 30–33. 10.3969/j.issn.1001-232x.2020.04.006
Kim, H.J., Hann, H.J., Hong, S.N., Kim, K.H., Ahn, I.M., Song, J.Y., Lee, S.H. and Ahn, H.S., 2015. Incidence and natural course of inflammatory bowel disease in Korea, 2006–2012: A nationwide population-based study. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases 21: 623–630. 10.1097/Mib.0000000000000313
Lin, H., Oturan, N., Wu, J., Sharma, V.K., Zhang, H. and Oturan, M.A., 2017. Removal of artificial sweetener aspartame from aqueous media by electrochemical advanced oxidation processes. Chemosphere 167: 220–227. 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.09.143
Liu, Y., Liu, L., Yan, C. and Li, D., 2012. Determination of content of aspartame in tea beverages by HPLC. Modern Food Science and Technology 28: 1810–1812. 10.13982/j.mfst.1673-9078.2012.12.009
Lu, Y., Wang, L., Liu, Y., Ren, B., Liu, M. and Yun, P., 2021. Determination of 9 kinds of sweeteners and preservatives in bakery products by ultra performance liquid chromatography. Journal of Food Safety and Quality 12: 1725–1730. 10.19812/j.cnki.jfsq11-5956/ts.2021.05.018
Malik, V.S., Popkin, B.M., Bray, G.A., Despres, J.P. and Hu, F.B., 2010. Sugar-sweetened beverages, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular disease risk. Circulation 121: 1356–1364. 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.876185
Mao, W. and Song, Y., 2018. Major problems and hazards in use of sweeteners commonly found in foods. Journal of food science and technology 36: 9–14. 10.3969/j.issn.2095-6002.2018.06.002
Marion-Letellier, R., Amamou, A., Savoye, G. and Ghosh, S., 2019. Inflammatory bowel diseases and food additives: to add fuel on the flames! Nutrients 11(5): 1111. 10.3390/nu11051111
Nakhimovsky, S.S., Feigl, A.B., Avila, C., O’Sullivan, G., Macgregor-Skinner, E. and Spranca, M., 2016. Taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages to reduce overweight and obesity in middle-income countries: a systematic review. PLoS One 11: e0163358. 10.1371/journal.pone.0163358
Ng, S.C., Bernstein, C.N., Vatn, M.H., Lakatos, P.L., Loftus, E.V., Jr., Tysk, C., O’Morain, C., Moum, B. and Colombel, J.F., 2013. Geographical variability and environmental risk factors in inflammatory bowel disease. Gut 62: 630–649. 10.1136/gutjnl-2012-303661
Olivier-Van Stichelen, S., Rother, K.I. and Hanover, J.A., 2019. Maternal exposure to non-nutritive sweeteners impacts progeny’s metabolism and microbiome. Frontiers in Microbiology 10: 1360. 10.3389/fmicb.2019.01360
Palatnik, A., Moosreiner, A. and Olivier-Van Stichelen, S., 2020. Consumption of non-nutritive sweeteners during pregnancy. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 223: 211–218. 10.1016/j.ajog.2020.03.034
Pinget, G., Tan, J., Janac, B., Kaakoush, N.O., Angelatos, A.S., O’Sullivan, J., Koay, Y.C., Sierro, F., Davis, J., Divakarla, S.K., Khanal, D., Moore, R.J., Stanley, D., Chrzanowski, W., Macia, L., 2019. Impact of the food additive titanium dioxide (E171) on gut microbiota-host interaction. Frontiers in Nutrition 6: 57. 10.3389/fnut.2019.00057
Plows, J.F., Morton-Jones, J., Bridge-Comer, P.E., Ponnampalam, A., Stanley, J.L., Vickers, M.H. and Reynolds, C.M., 2020. Consumption of the artificial sweetener acesulfame potassium throughout pregnancy induces glucose intolerance and adipose tissue dysfunction in mice. Journal of Nutrition 150: 1773–1781. 10.1093/jn/nxaa106
Praveena, S.M., Cheema, M.S. and Guo, H.R., 2019. Non-nutritive artificial sweeteners as an emerging contaminant in environment: a global review and risks perspectives. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 170: 699–707. 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2018.12.048
Purohit, V. and Mishra, S., 2018. The truth about artificial sweeteners–are they good for diabetics? Indian Heart Journal 70: 197–199. 10.1016/j.ihj.2018.01.020
Rico-Campa, A., Martinez-Gonzalez, M.A., Alvarez-Alvarez, I., Mendonca, R.D., de la Fuente-Arrillaga, C., Gomez-Donoso, C. and Bes-Rastrollo, M., 2019. Association between consumption of ultra-processed foods and all cause mortality: SUN prospective cohort study. British Medical Journal 365: l1949. 10.1136/bmj.l1949
Rinninella, E., Cintoni, M., Raoul, P., Lopetuso, L.R., Scaldaferri, F., Pulcini, G., Miggiano, G.A.D., Gasbarrini, A. and Mele, M.C., 2019. Food components and dietary habits: keys for a healthy gut microbiota composition. Nutrients 11(10): 2393. 10.3390/nu11102393
Sathyapalan, T., Thatcher, N.J., Hammersley, R., Rigby, A.S., Courts, F.L., Pechlivanis, A., Gooderham, N.J., et al., 2015. Aspartame sensitivity? A double blind randomised crossover study. PLoS One 10: e0116212. 10.1371/journal.pone.0116212
Seo, P.W., Khan, N.A., Hasan, Z. and Jhung, S.H., 2016. Adsorptive removal of artificial sweeteners from water using metal-organic frameworks functionalized with urea or melamine. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 8: 29799–29807. 10.1021/acsami.6b11115
Suez, J., Korem, T., Zeevi, D., Zilberman-Schapira, G., Thaiss, C.A., Maza, O., et al., 2014. Artificial sweeteners induce glucose intolerance by altering the gut microbiota. Nature 514: 181–186. 10.1038/nature13793
Swidsinski, A., Ung, V., Sydora, B.C., Loening-Baucke, V., Doerffel, Y., Verstraelen, H. and Fedorok, R.N., 2009. Bacterial overgrowth and inflammation of small intestine after carboxymethylcellulose ingestion in genetically susceptible mice. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases 15: 359–364. 10.1002/ibd.20763
Tang, J.W., Yuan, L.J., Xiao, Y., Wang, X. and Wang, S.X., 2019. Simultaneous determination of nine artificial sweeteners in food by solid-phase extraction coupled with high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Chinese Journal of Chromatography 37: 619–625. 10.3724/Sp.J.1123.2019.01012
Wang, J. and Shen, S., 2019. Food sweeteners and their applications. China Food Safety Magazine 2019(9): 183–188.
Wang, L., Ke, R., An, H., Yang, C., Shan, S. and Yin, J., 2019. Simultaneous determination of sweeteners, preservatives and pigments in grape wine by HPLC-MS/MS. Liquor-Making Science and Technology 2019(1): 120–125. 10.13746/j.njkj.2018236
WHO, 2015. Guideline: sugars intake for adults and children. Available at: https://www.who.int/publications-detail/9789241549028.
Xie, L., Zhu, H. and Ge, F., 2011. Determination of alitame in beverages by ion chromatography. Physical Testing and Chemical Analysis (Part B:Chemical Analysis) 47: 919–920+923. 10.3724/SP.J.1105.2011.10085
Yang, D.J. and Chen, B., 2009. Simultaneous determination of nonnutritive sweeteners in foods by HPLC/ESI-MS. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 57: 3022–3027. 10.1021/jf803988u
Yu, J., Zheng, Y., Zeng, L., Zhou, X., Li, Q., Wang, H. and Zhang, J., 2018. Determination of acesulfame potassium, saccharin sodium, aspartame, alitame, neotame and stevioside by ultra-performance liquid chromatography. China Food Additives 2018(7): 127–131. 10.3969/j.issn.1006-2513.2018.07.012
Zaeem, Z., Zhou, L. and Dilli, E., 2016. Headaches: a review of the role of dietary factors. Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports 16(11): 101. 10.1007/s11910-016-0702–1
Zhao, H. and Wang, X., 2018. Human health risks of artificial sweeteners. Journal of Food Science and Technology 36: 15–20. 10.3969/j.issn.2095-6002.2018.06.003
Zhu, Y., Guo, Y.Y., Ye, M.L. and James, F.S., 2005. Separation and simultaneous determination of four artificial sweeteners in food and beverages by ion chromatography. Journal of Chromatography A 1085: 143–146. 10.1016/j.chroma.2004.12.042
Zuo, T., Kamm, M.A., Colombel, J.F. and Ng, S.C., 2018. Urbanization and the gut microbiota in health and inflammatory bowel disease. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology and Hepatology 15: 440–452. 10.1038/s41575-018-0003-z
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