New zero-calorie sweetener is 3,500 times sweeter than sugar but does not raise insulin

Amai Proteins has developed a sweetener so potent that less than three milligrams can sweeten a regular serving of iced tea. The powder, called svelin, is 3,500 times sweeter than sugar by weight and dissolves readily in liquids.

The company tested the product in a double-blind, randomized clinical trial involving 19 people. Researchers monitored participants’ glucose, insulin and GLP-1 levels for 120 minutes after they consumed a drink containing a high dose of svelin. Each participant repeated the test during separate visits one week apart.

The study, published in Food Chemistry, found that svelin produced a glucose response 31 times smaller than sugar and an insulin response 81 times smaller. Researchers described it as the first clinical trial to examine the metabolic effects of a so-called sweet protein.

Sweet proteins occur in certain rare tropical fruits and can be at least 1,000 times sweeter than sugar. Svelin was inspired by the serendipity berry, or Dioscoreophyllum cumminsii, which grows in the tropical rainforests of western and central Africa. Amai used artificial intelligence to develop the modified version.

The sweetener can withstand high temperatures and may replace up to 70% of the sugar required in some recipes. U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials said earlier this year that they had no further questions about Amai’s conclusion that the product is safe. Svelin is available as a sugar substitute in food, beverages and confectionery products in the United States, Singapore and Israel.

The trial was funded by Amai and conducted at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in Israel. Its small size and short duration mean the results require caution, and the long-term health effects of wider consumption remain unclear.