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Acesulfame-K

     

Other names:
Acesulfame
Ace-K
Acetosulfam
6-Methyl-1,2,3-oxathiazin-4(3H)-one 2,2-dioxide
6-Methyl-3,4-dihydro-1,2,3-oxathiazin-4-one 2,2-dioxide
Sunett™
Sunette™
HOE-095K
E950 (European Union food additive code)

Taste:
Acesulfame has a sweet taste; many people experience a bitter-metallic aftertaste (much like
saccharin). Its onset of sweetness is rapid. The sweetness potency relative to sucrose is about 200, but depends upon the concentration of sucrose which is being matched. The concentration vs. response
relationship in water (results in food systems will vary) is shown below. This graph is based on data from DuBois, Walters, Schiffman, Warwick, Booth, Pecore, Gibes, Carr & Brands in "Sweeteners:
Discovery, Molecular Design, and Chemoreception," D.E. Walters et al., Eds., American Chemical Society, 1991.  The units of R are percent sucrose equivalent; the units of C are parts per million (ppm).



Calories:
Acesulfame-K provides no calories.

Safety:
Acesulfame is a small molecule with high water solubility. It is rapidly absorbed by the body and then rapidly excreted in the urine.  Currently there are no safety concerns with acesulfame-K.

Chemistry:

Molecular formula: C4H4KNO4S

Molecular weight: 201.24

Acesulfame is an oxathiazinone dioxide. Chemically, it bears some structural resemblance to saccharin. The hydrogen atom on the nitrogen is quite acidic (pKa ~2) and it readily forms salts as shown below. The sweetener is sold as the potassium salt.

Properties:
Water solubility is ~27 g/100 mL and is quite temperature-dependent.   Stability is excellent.

Discovery:
Acesulfame was discovered by a chemist, Karl Clauss, in 1967. He noticed a sweet taste when he licked his finger to pick up a piece of paper in the laboratory (Clauss, K.; Jensen, H. Oxathiazinone Dioxides--A New Group of Sweetening Agents. Angew. Chem. Internatl. Ed. Engl. 1973, 12, 869-876.).

Other links:
Acesulfame-K on Wikipedia

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