Brooklyn Queens Land Trust

Saccharin

Apr 16, 2006

Saccharin

Saccharin, synthetic, white, crystalline powder, of formula C6H4CONHSO2, which in its pure state is 550 times as sweet as sugarcane. In its commercial form, saccharin is estimated to have a sweetening power 375 times that of sugar. It is prepared from toluene; the sweet taste of the substance was discovered accidentally in the late 19th century in the course of investigations of toluene derivatives. When moderately large amounts of saccharin are dissolved in water, the solution has a bitter taste, the sweetness being evident only in dilute solutions. Saccharin is not digested by the body and has no food value. It is used in place of sugar by persons suffering from diabetes (Diabetes Mellitus) and persons on weight-reducing diets, for the psychological purpose of satisfying a taste for sweetness. Some evidence indicates, however, that saccharin can itself stimulate the appetite and the production of insulin by the body.

For several years, saccharin has been under investigation as a potential cause of cancer; its use was banned in Canada in 1977 for that reason, but public reaction in the United States helped keep saccharin on the market. Warning labels were required, however, on saccharin-containing foods. The most recent studies indicate that saccharin is a weak carcinogen in laboratory animals but does not, in moderate use, present an increased cancer risk in humans.