Neotame
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Image:Neotame-molecular diagram.png
Neotame is an artificial sweetener made by NutraSweet that is between 8,000 and 13,000 times sweeter than sugar. Neotame is moderately heat stable and extremely potent, and of no danger to those suffering from phenylketonuria, as it does not metabolize into phenylalanine. Neotame is rapidly metabolized, completely eliminated, and does not accumulate in the body. The major metabolic pathway is hydrolysis of the methyl ester by esterases that are present throughout the body, which yields de-esterified Neotame and methanol. Because only very small amounts of Neotame are needed to sweeten foods, the amount of methanol derived from Neotame is very small relative to that derived from common foods, such as fruit and vegetable juices. Peptidases, which would typically break the peptide bond between the aspartic acid and phenylalanine moieties, are essentially blocked by the presence of the 3,3-dimethylbutyl moiety, thus reducing the availability of phenylalanine. Approved by the FDA for general use in July 2002, Neotame is only beginning to see use in a wider variety of products.