aspartame

See also: Aspartame

English

Etymology

Commercial name, from aspartic. The -ame is perhaps because aspartame is an amide. Compare aspartamine.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əˈspɑːteɪm/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈæspɚteɪm/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• GB: aspar‧tame; US: as‧par‧tame

Noun

aspartame (usually uncountable, plural aspartames)

1. (organic chemistry) An artificial sweetener, the methyl ester of a dipeptide formed from aspartic acid and phenylalanine, used in many processed foods and beverages.
   • 2001, C. Keith Conners, Feeding the Brain: How Foods Affect Children, page 38:

     Though reluctant to further expose him to aspartame, I had little trouble persuading Jamie's mother to carry out a double-blind trial in order to more rigorously document her son's aberrant response to aspartame.

   • 2006, J. G. Thirlwell (lyrics and music), “Sieve”, in Damp, performed by Foetus:

     Caramel colors and aspartame
     Phosphoric acid, potassium
     Natural flavors, of course caffeine
     And now I'm jonesin' for MSG

   • 2007, Nina Redman, Food Safety: A Reference Handbook, page 37:

     Aspartame, sold under the brand NutraSweet, was discovered accidentally by a scientist at Searle in 1965 who was testing new drugs for gastric ulcers and licked his fingers before picking up a piece of paper.

   • 2008, Frances Sienkiewicz Sizer, Eleanor Noss Whitney, Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies, volume 10, page 143:

     In powdered form, aspartame is mixed with lactose, so a 1-gram packet contains 4 calories.

   • 2023 May 15, April Rubin, “World Health Organization Warns Against Using Artificial Sweeteners”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     Some examples of the sweeteners include aspartame, saccharin, sucralose and stevia. The W.H.O.’s announcement contradicts previous studies that have said these sweeteners don’t offer any health benefits but also do not cause harm.

Synonyms

• E951 when used as a sweetener

Translations

the artificial sweetener

• Danish: aspartam c
• Dutch: aspartaam (nl) n
• Finnish: aspartaami (fi)
• Galician: aspartame (gl), aspartamo (gl)
• German: Aspartam (de) n
• Italian: aspartame (it)
• Japanese: アスパルテーム (asuparutēmu)
• Persian:

  Dari: اَسْپَرْتیم (aspartēm), اَسْپَارْتیم (aspārtēm)

  Iranian Persian: آسْپارْتام (âspârtâm)

• Polish: aspartam (pl) m
• Portuguese: aspartame (pt) m
• Spanish: aspartamo m
• Swedish: aspartam n
• Turkish: aspartam

Further reading

• aspartame on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Italian

Noun

aspartame

1. aspartame

Portuguese

Noun

aspartame m (usually uncountable, plural aspartames)

1. (organic chemistry) aspartame (an artificial sweetener)

Spanish

Noun

aspartame m (uncountable)

1. aspartame