Cyclamate is the generic term for the cylohexylsulfamates; this sweetener was discovered in 1937 by Michael Sveda at the University of Illinois.
A patent was obtained, which became the property of Abbott Laboratories in North Chicago, Illinois. It was given GRAS approval by FDA in 1949.
In 1957, Frederick Helgren of Abbot Laboratories made a key discovery which facilitated a burst of growth in low-caloric foods and beverages. He found that blending saccharin with cyclamate, in a ratio such that each sweetener contributes equal sweeteners results in a product with dramatically improved taste quality.
Cyclamate is almost invariably used as either the sodium or calcium salt, each of which is a non caloric, white crystalline powder with good solubility.
It is about 30 times as sweet as sucrose in dilute solution.
Like saccharin, it has a bitter aftertaste but when used in combination with saccharin, the bitter aftertaste associated with each compound is significantly suppressed and cam only be detected at high concentrations.
The ability of human to metabolize cyclamates differs greatly, and is apparently dependent on an individual’s intestinal flora. Humans and laboratory animals placed in a cyclamate diet have shown the ability to increasingly metabolize cyclamate over a period of days to weeks.
Cyclamate is metabolized in the digestive tract, and its byproducts are secreted by the kidneys. Its primary metabolite is cycohexylamine, which some scientists believe may be more toxic than cyclamate.
Cyclohexylamine is formed from the non-absorbed cyclamate by bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract.
Capillary transitional cell tumors were found in the urinary bladders of 8 out of 80 rats that received 2600 mg/kg weight per day of a mixture of sodium cyclamate and sodium saccharin.
In 1969, use of cyclamates in general purpose foods was banned in the USA on the basis of studies linking increased incidence of bladder tumors in rats fed with a cyclamate/saccharin mixture.
In 1970, the FDA banned completely from all food and drugs.
Cyclamate
