Revisiting the safety of aspartame

Abstract Aspartame is a synthetic dipeptide artificial sweetener, frequently used in foods, medications, and beverages, notably carbonated and powdered soft drinks. Since 1981, when aspartame was first approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, researchers have debated both its recommended saf...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nutrition reviews 2017-09, Vol.75 (9), p.718-730
Main Authors: Choudhary, Arbind Kumar, Pretorius, Etheresia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Aspartame - administration & dosage
Aspartame - pharmacokinetics
Aspartame - toxicity
Blood Cells - drug effects
Brain - drug effects
Carbonated Beverages - analysis
Disease Models, Animal
Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
Fibrin - metabolism
Food Safety
Gastrointestinal Microbiome - drug effects
Heart - drug effects
Humans
Immune System - drug effects
Kidney - drug effects
Liver - drug effects
Non-Nutritive Sweeteners - administration & dosage
Non-Nutritive Sweeteners - toxicity
Observational Studies as Topic
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Summary:Abstract Aspartame is a synthetic dipeptide artificial sweetener, frequently used in foods, medications, and beverages, notably carbonated and powdered soft drinks. Since 1981, when aspartame was first approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, researchers have debated both its recommended safe dosage (40 mg/kg/d) and its general safety to organ systems. This review examines papers published between 2000 and 2016 on both the safe dosage and higher-than-recommended dosages and presents a concise synthesis of current trends. Data on the safe aspartame dosage are controversial, and the literature suggests there are potential side effects associated with aspartame consumption. Since aspartame consumption is on the rise, the safety of this sweetener should be revisited. Most of the literature available on the safety of aspartame is included in this review. Safety studies are based primarily on animal models, as data from human studies are limited. The existing animal studies and the limited human studies suggest that aspartame and its metabolites, whether consumed in quantities significantly higher than the recommended safe dosage or within recommended safe levels, may disrupt the oxidant/antioxidant balance, induce oxidative stress, and damage cell membrane integrity, potentially affecting a variety of cells and tissues and causing a deregulation of cellular function, ultimately leading to systemic inflammation.
ISSN:0029-6643
1753-4887
DOI:10.1093/nutrit/nux035