Searching for optimal low calorie sweetener blends in ternary & quaternary system

This study investigated the presence of sweetness synergism and sensory characteristics of ternary and quaternary low-calorie sweetener blends. The objective was to identify effective combinations showing sweetness synergism as well as sweetness properties similar to those of sucrose. Four types of bulk sweeteners (sucrose, allulose, tagatose, and erythritol) and potent sweeteners (sucralose and 3 rebaudiosides) were the samples of interest, and they were used to formulate 24 ternary and 47 quaternary mixtures. A descriptive analysis was applied to evaluate the sensory characteristics of these combinations. A 10% sucrose solution was included as a control when evaluating the sensory characteristics of all sweetener combination samples. Among the sweetener combinations, mixtures showing sweetness qualities similar to those of the sucrose control and those exhibiting sweetness synergism were identified. The results showed that including a larger number of combined sweeteners as well as a larger proportion of bulk sweeteners in the mixtures increased the likelihood of sweetness synergism and minimal off notes such as bitterness and astringency.