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Journal of Nutrition Vol. 107 No. 10 October 1977, pp. 1837-1845
Copyright © 1977 by American Society for Nutrition
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Effect of Aspartame and Aspartate Loading upon Plasma and Erythrocyte Free Amino Acid Levels in Normal Adult Volunteers1,2,

Lewis D. Stegink, L. J. Filer, Jr and George L. Baker

Departments of Pediatrics and Biochemistry, The University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa 52242

Aspartame is a dipeptide (L-aspartyl-L-phenylalanyl-methyl ester) with a sweeting potential 180 to 200 times that of sucrose. Questions have been raised about potential toxic effects of its constituent amino acids, aspartate and phenylalanine when the compound is ingested in large amounts. Plasma and erythrocyte amino acid levels were measured in 12 normal subjects after administration of either Aspartame (34 mg/kg) or equimolar quantities of aspartate (13 mg/kg) in a crossover design. No changes in either plasma or erythrocyte aspartate levels were noted at any time after either Aspartame or aspartate ingestion. Plasma phenylalanine levels decreased slightly after aspartate loading, and increased from fasting levels (4.9 ± 1 µmoles/100 ml) to 10.7 ± 1.9 µmoles/100 ml about 45 to 60 minutes after Aspartame loading. Phenylalanine levels returned to baseline by 4 hours. Erythrocyte phenylalanine levels showed similar changes.

KEY WORDS: • Aspartame • plasma amino acids • aspartate • phenylalanine

1 Supported in part by a grant-in-aid from Searle Laboratories, Chicago, Illinois.

2 These data were presented in preliminary form at the American Institute of Nutrition meeting April, 1976, Anaheim, California. Federation Proc. 35, 497, 1976.

Manuscript received 21 January 1977.




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