# Sucralose **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 12, 2001, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sucralose/49686 "2001-01-12T12:52:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2001, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sucralose/49686/1 "2001-01-12T12:52:42Z")
(At least that’s how I think it’s spelled.) There’s a sweetener on the market (forgot the name) that say’s it’s made 100% from regular sugar (sucrose), but that it’s been modified into this sucralose that provides no calories yet all of the taste of sugar. What’s the Straight Dope on this stuff? ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2001, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sucralose/49686/2 "2001-01-12T13:05:21Z")
Here’s a [press release from the FDA](http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/ANS00859.html) announcing the approval of Sucralose and here’s the offical Sucralose site. Well, Dogpile says it’s the official page; I can’t seem to open it though. Maybe you’ll have better luck. [http://www.tasteslikesugar.com](http://www.tasteslikesugar.com) ---
**Author:** ![Andy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/aeb1de/32.png) [@Andy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2001, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sucralose/49686/3 "2001-01-12T13:31:33Z")
I’ve read a little on the web about this stuff and it does seem to be pretty straightforward. [Here’s](http://www.finchcms.edu/biochem/walters/sweet/sucralose.html#Anchor-49575) a link about the chemistry/biology and other bits and pieces about the compound. It seems that the the replacement of three of the eight hydroxyl groups (as in free sucrose) with chlorine atoms reduces the body’s ability to metabolise this molecule to a great degree, but allows the maintainance of the interaction (spatially) which gives rise to the sweet taste. I don’t know enough about carbohydrate metabolism (yet, I’ll read up) to understand why metabolism is inhibited, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that (chemical) chlorination (naturally) occurs at the more reactive primary hydroxyl sites (and one of the secondary sites), perhaps blocking a normal initial degradation pathway. [This could be nonsense, but maybe the first step in the pathway for sucrose metabolism involves phosphorylation to give sucrose-6-phosphate, with phosphorylation having occurred in the fructose ring; this pathway would be blocked] Aside: Chlorination, or any kind of halogenation of a molecule does not necessarily make it any more toxic than it’s predecessor. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2001, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sucralose/49686/4 "2001-01-12T13:44:10Z")
search this board under splenda, i think it’s there but i have to go… ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2001, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sucralose/49686/5 "2001-01-12T13:44:21Z")
Heres [the link](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=53860) to the thread I started a couple of weeks ago about [Splenda](http://www.splenda.com/intro/index2.html). That’s probably what you saw advertised. I bought a box of Splenda yesterday, and I plan to bake cookies with it this weekend to see how it compares to regular sugar. ---
**Author:** ![Nymysys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f6c823/32.png) [@Nymysys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nymysys)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2001, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sucralose/49686/6 "2001-01-12T19:30:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by android209 \* > \*\*I’ve read a little on the web about this stuff and it does seem to be pretty straightforward. [Here’s](http://www.finchcms.edu/biochem/walters/sweet/sucralose.html#Anchor-49575) a link about the chemistry/biology and other bits and pieces about the compound. > > It seems that the the replacement of three of the eight hydroxyl groups \ > Aside: Chlorination, or any kind of halogenation of a molecule does not necessarily make it any more toxic than it’s predecessor. \*\* \ Isn’t he CUTE when he uses big words? \ Be still my heart. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2001, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sucralose/49686/7 "2001-01-12T20:47:32Z")
> [@](#): > > I bought a box of Splenda yesterday, and I plan to bake cookies with it this weekend to see how it compares to regular sugar. let us know how they turn out, and if good please post the receipe