Aspartame as a synthetic sweetener is a dipeptide composed of aspartic acid and phenylalanine. It is 180-200 times more sweetener than sucrose, which is made by two enzymatic and non-enzymatic methods and was first discovered randomly in 1965. The high sweetening power and low calorie of aspartame was prompted food industry that it used as a good alternative compared to sugar in sweet foods such as all types of beverages and sweets for people with diseases that associated with glucose homeostasis. In several years ago, some studies have shown that aspartame has been considered as a reason for induction of oxidative stress, metabolic syndrome, nervous system diseases, modifier of gastrointestinal microflora, and complications that related to these and even cancer. While, in the other studies, aspartame is still considered as a safe compound and an alternative compared to sugar for prevention of diseases such as obesity, diabetes and weight loss. Despite of contradictory studies, food safety organizations such as the FDA, the FAO, and the EFSA, are still authorizing daily use of aspartame at an acceptable daily intake (DAI) for all individuals with the exception of people with phenylctonuria disease.

BACKGROUND: Aspartame, as a synthetic sweetener, has been widely used in food products during the recent decades and renal excretion of aspartame lasts several days.OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to investigate the dose-dependent effects of aspartame on morphometrical and histometrical changes of the kidney in immature mice.METHODS: 24 immature female Balb/C mice, were randomly categorized to three experimenta and one control groups of 6 mice each. Experimental and control groups received aspartame100, 200 and 400 mg/kg/bw respectively and distilled water with the same method for 21 days. At the end of the experiment, the mice were weighed and anesthetized their right kidneys were stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin.RESULTS: body weight difference showed significant decrease in experimental groups of 100, 200, 400 mg/kg/bw (1.43±0.198, 1.64±0.281, 2.60±0.388) respectively compare to the control groups (4.65±0.139), length, width, diameter and weight of kidneys had significant decrease between experimental and control groups(p<0.05). In the case of histometrical changes, the diameter of glomeruli, diameter of renal corpuscles and the height of epithelium of proximal and distal convoluted tubules showed significant decrease in experimental groups compared to control group (p<0.05). The diameter of urinary space and lumen of proximal and distal convoluted tubules, experimental groups showed significant increase compared to control group (p<0.05).CONCLUSIONS: This can be concluded that aspartame can induce morphometrical and histometrical changes in mice kidney.

Aspartame is one of the most popular artificial sweeteners over the world. Although its consumption is considered to be safe in acceptable daily intake ranges which were set by the United States Food and Drugs Administration and other regulatory agencies, there are lots of controversies regarding its safety nowadays. Some of the recent experimental and epidemiological studies showed that consumption of aspartame may causes some adverse health effects including obesity, metabolic syndrome, and alteration in gut microbiota. Moreover, studies on the nephrotoxic effect of aspartame have increased. A search of several literature databases for publications on adverse effects of aspartame on the kidney function from 1980 to 2016 showed that long-term consumption of aspartame led to a dose-dependent increased production of free radicals in renal tissues as well as kidney injury, based on several studies on animals However, given the lack of clinical data in this area, it is difficult to make a definitive conclusion regarding nephrotoxic effect of aspartame. Overall, consumers should be aware of the potential side effects of aspartame and other artificial sweeteners. At present it may be recommended that only a minimal amount of them would be consumed.

For formulation of new products or reformulation of existing ones, it is wise to know possibility of any interaction of drug-drug or drug additive, which will affect the stability of final product.In this study, first thermograms of aspartame and each drug were prepared individually, then thermograms of an equal mixture of drug and aspartame was drug prepared and compared with the pure and aspartame thermograms.DSC thermograms of chloropheniramine and phenylephrine showed a deformation and shift in the peak indicating probable interaction while acetminophen and sulphamethoxazole had no changes in their thermograms, therefore no interaction between aspartame and those drugs can exist.

Due to obesity disorders and related diseases, low calorie soft drinks have been greatly favored in recent years. In this study, all the sugar in the reference syrup was eliminated to produce diet syrups. Pectin as a bulking agent and aspartame and acesulfame-k as sweeteners substitute for sucrose were applied. For studying the selected formulations during storage, these syrups were stored at room temperature and 40oC for 4 months. Degradation of aspartame was measured using HPLC method and then its degradation kinetics was determined. Results showed that time and temperature had significant effects (p<0.001) on the aspartame stability but the type of formulation (different types of syrups) had no significant effects. The first order reaction rate was applied for calculating the constant rates of aspartame degradation. The calculated reaction rate constants for the diet syrups were about 0.1 at ambient temperature and about 0.3 at 40 oC. The half-life of the aspartame degradation was about 4 months at ambient temperature and about 2 months at 40 oC. Therefore, the amount of aspartame in the product depends on temperature, time and environmental conditions. Acceptability of aspartame decreases at high temperatures due to the degradation of aspartame, so it is not suggested to be used in sour cherry syrup in these conditions. But, it can be easily used in sour cherry syrup at around ambient temperatures.

BACKGROUND: One of the most artificial sweeteners is Aspartame which is commonly used in a variety of foodstuffs.OBJECTIVES: This study has been carried out in order to evaluate the effects of Aspartame on histology and histometry of duodenum.METHODS: Forty female Balb/C mice, 21 days of age were selected and initial weight was determined. The treatment groups received 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg of Aspartame for 6 weeks, control group received only distilled water. At the end of experiment, the mice were reweighed. Then the duodenal tissue sections were prepared and stained with H&E. Besides the histological study, histometric data were collected by a light microscope equipped with Axiovision software.RESULTS: The body weights in treatment groups (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg) were 5.57±1.18, 4.47±0.89 and 5.84±0.57 respectively, which in comparison with the control group (9.38±0.81) showed a significant difference (p<0.05). The histological study showed that the rate of destruction in the cells and mucosal structures, at the dose of 200 mg/kg compared to the dose of 100 and 400 mg/kg has been increased. In histometric aspect, abundance of duodenal villi, height of the villi and thickness of duodenal mucosa, only in the experimental group of 200 mg/kg were significantly increased compared to the control group (p<0.05). Whereas the width of villi (width of the apex, body and the base), in all of the experimental groups showed a significant decrease compared to the control group (p<0.05). The thickness of musculature of duodenum in experimental groups had no significant differences with the control group.CONCLUSIONS: Based on this study, it can be concluded that Aspartame can cause some histological and histometrical changes in duodenum.