Sodium cyclamate is an artificial sweetener. It is 30–50 times sweeter
than sucrose, making it the least potent of the commercially used artificial
sweeteners. It is often used with other artificial sweeteners, especially
saccharin; the mixture of 10 parts cyclamate to 1 part saccharin is common
and masks the off-tastes of both sweeteners. It is less expensive than
most sweeteners, including sucralose, and is stable under heating.
Chemistry Cyclamate is the sodium or calcium salt
of cyclamic acid, which itself is prepared by the sulfonation of
cyclohexylamine. This can be accomplished by reacting cyclohexylamine
with either sulfamic acid or sulfur trioxide.
History Cyclamate was discovered in 1937 at the
University of Illinois by graduate student Michael Sveda. Sveda was working
in the lab on the synthesis of anti-fever medication. He put his
cigarette down on the lab bench, and, when he put it back in his mouth, he
discovered the sweet taste of cyclamate. The patent for cyclamate was purchased
by DuPont but later sold to Abbott Laboratories, which undertook the
necessary studies and submitted a New Drug Application in 1950. Abbott
intended to use cyclamate to mask the bitterness of certain drugs such as
antibiotics and pentobarbital. In the United States in 1958, it was designated
GRAS. Cyclamate was marketed in tablet form for use by diabetics as an
alternative tabletop sweetener, as well as in a liquid form. As cyclamate is
stable to heat, it was and is marketed as suitable for use in cooking and
baking. Controversy developed when, in 1966, a
study reported that some intestinal bacteria could desulfonate cyclamate to
produce cyclohexylamine, a compound suspected to have some chronic toxicity
in animals. Further research resulted in a 1969 study that found the common 10:1
cyclamate:saccharin mixture to increase the incidence of bladder cancer in rats.
The released study was showing that eight out of 240 rats fed a mixture of
saccharin and cyclamates, at levels of humans ingesting 350 cans of diet soda
per day, developed bladder tumors. Sales continue to expand, and in 1969
there were $1 billion in annual sales of cyclamate, which increased pressure from
public safety watchdogs to restrict the use of cyclamate. In October 1969,
Department of Health, Education & Welfare Secretary Robert Finch bypassed
the Commissioner Herbert L. Ley, Jr. of the Food and Drug Administration and
removed the GRAS designation from cyclamate and banned its use in general
purpose foods, though it remained available for restricted use in dietary
products with additional labeling; in October 1970 the Food and Drug
Administration under a new FDA commissioner banned cyclamate completely
from all food and drug products in the United States.
Abbott Laboratories claimed that its own studies were unable to reproduce the
1969 study's results, and, in 1973, Abbott petitioned the FDA to lift the
ban on cyclamate. This petition was eventually denied in 1980 by FDA
Commissioner Jere Goyan. Abbott Labs, together with the Calorie Control
Council, filed a second petition in 1982. Although the FDA has stated that a
review of all available evidence does not implicate cyclamate as a carcinogen
in mice or rats, cyclamate remains banned from food products in the United
States. The petition is now held in abeyance, though not actively
considered. It is unclear whether this is at the request of Abbott Labs or
because the petition is considered to be insufficient by the FDA.
Food contamination In Taipei, Taiwan, a city health survey
in 2010 found nearly 30% of tested dried fruit products failed a health standards
test, most having excessive amounts of cyclamate, some at levels 20 times
higher than the legal limit. Legal status
Cyclamate is approved as a sweetener in over 55 countries.
In the late 1960s cyclamate was banned in the United Kingdom but was approved
after being re-evaluated by the European Union in 1996.
In the Philippines cyclamate was once banned, however in 2013 the Philippine
Food and Drug Administration lifted the ban and it was declared safe for
Philippine consumption. Cyclamate is currently banned in the
United States. Brands
Sweeteners produced by Sweet'N Low and Sugar Twin for Canada contain cyclamate,
though not those produced for the United States.
Assugrin Chuker - Merisant Company 2, SARL
Cologran Hermesetas
Huxol in liquid form Novasweet
Rio Sucaryl
Sugar Twin Suitli
Sweet N' Low Notes and references
External links European Commission Revised Opinion On
Cyclamic Acid US FDA Petitions Currently Held in
Abeyance List of other chemical and brand names
for cyclamate A brief history of sweeteners, including
the discovery of cyclamate