Nonnutritive sweeteners are not supernormal stimuli.

ABSTRACT:

Background

It is often claimed that nonnutritive sweeteners (NNS) are 'sweeter than sugar', with the implicit implication that high-potency sweeteners are supernormal stimuli that encourage exaggerated responses. This study aimed to investigate the perceived sweetness intensity of a variety of nutritive sweeteners (sucrose, maple syrup and agave nectar) and NNS (acesulfame-K (AceK), rebaudioside A (RebA), aspartame and sucralose) in a large cohort of untrained participants using contemporary psychophysical methods.

Methods

Participants (n=401 total) rated the intensity of sweet, bitter and metallic sensations for nutritive sweeteners and NNS in water using the general labeled magnitude scale.

Results

Sigmoidal dose-response functions were observed for all stimuli exce

SUBMITTER: Antenucci RG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4262733 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature