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🔬 Science & TechnologyUPSC 2011Space & Space Technology

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener sold in the market. It consists of amino acids and provides calories like other amino acids. Yet, it is used as a low-calorie sweetening agent in food items. What is the basis of this use?

aAspartame is as sweet as table sugar, but unlike table sugar, it is not readily oxidised in the human body due to lack of requisite enzymes.
bWhen aspartame is used in food processing, the sweet taste remains, but it becomes resistant to oxidation.
cAspartame is as sweet as sugar, but after ingestion into the body, it is converted into metabolites that yield no calories.
dAspartame is several times sweeter than table sugar, hence food items made with small quantities of aspartame yield fewer calories on oxidation.
✓ Correct answer: d) Aspartame is several times sweeter than table sugar, hence food items made with small quantities of aspartame yield fewer calories on oxidation.
ExplanationAspartame is a non-saccharide artificial sweetener approximately 200 times sweeter than sucrose, and is commonly used as a substitute of sugar in foods and beverages.The commercial names for it are NutraSweet, Equal, and Canderel.It is a methyl ester of the aspartic acid / phenylalanine dipeptide.Since Aspartame is several times sweeter than table sugar, hence food items made with small quantities of aspartame yield fewer calories on oxidation.UPSC GS Paper-I PYQs 582 207

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