C H E M I C A L S

Synthetics Sweeten Soft Drinks New report favorable to low-calorie beverages

A N T * RETICENCE dietetic food manu­facturers might have had about low-calorie soft drinks sweetened with cyclamate should b e dispelled by the latest report of National Research Coun­cil's Food Protection Committee. From results of tests involving inmate-volun­teers at Indiana State Prison, the com­mittee concludes that unrestricted use in foods and beverages may have some laxative effect, but cyclamate is "prob­ably . . . without hazard t o health." This is about as positive a ^statement as any official organization is likely to make about a compound's safety, ac­cording to Edward J. Matson, Abbott Laboratories, who handled liaison be­tween the company and NRC's inde­pendent researches.

Although basic pa tents on cyclamate are held by D u Pont, Abbott (under a Du Pont license) has carried out most of t h e market development work and is the major . producer a t present. Sucaryl—Abbott's t rade-name for cycla­mate—is widely used in place of sugar in dietetic canned fruit, jellies, candy, and other foods, bu t the biggest outlet is for soft drinks.

Last December a report containing general remarks abou t dietetic foods by the Nutrition Board of NRC, was released by Food and Drug Administra­tion. The report did not emphasize safety of sweeteners in foods, but it ex­pressed some question over use of cyclamate in dietetic beverages. These contain greater quantities of sweetener than foods, and it is conceivable that some thirsty individual might consume some abnormally large number of cans or bottles during a particularly hot day. A previous study a t the University of Illinois Medical School had shown that a laxative effect might occur if several grams of cyclamate were taken in a day, so the NRC thought further in­vestigation was necessary a n d left its conclusion on cyclamates "tentative."

T h e laxative effect from very high doses has been shown in animal studies to b e due to an increase in water con­tent in the intestine to keep the proper osmotic balance, and not to any stimu­lation of intestinal activity. Prison studies showed a laxative effect oc­curred only when cyclamate was taken

cyclamate sweeteners for

Abbott 's E d w a r d J. Matson believes the latest N R C report on cyclamates should remove any reservations soft drink manufacturers might have about using his company's Sucaryl as a sweetener in low-calorie beverages

in solid form. In beverages in amounts up to seven grams this effect was not observed.

Although the NRC report points out that study Has been confined to adult males, and there has been little con­trolled work done with people in ab­normal physiological states, Abbott in­terprets the report as a "vote of confi­dence." Apparently, other companies also feel tha t t he cyclamate future is wide open. Du Pont, Merck, and Pfi­zer are beginning to market cyclamate.

• Saccharin Older . Saccharin has been used since late in the 19th cen­tury as a nonnutritive sweetener, but it was only i n 1950 that cyclamate—so­dium or calcium salt of cyclohexylsul-famic acid—appeared on the market. In the Uni ted States saccharin has been used primarily for special dietary pur­poses. However, since the country has started to wor ry about its collective waistline a lo t of thought has gone into more general substitution of artificial

sweeteners for sugar in foods. Sac­charin (partly because of discrimina­tory legislation passed many years ago before anyone ever heard of cyclamate sweeteners) has not been used in die­tetic foods to the extent that cycla­mates have.

Market potentialities for cyclamate in dietetic foods and beverages are con­siderable. T h e average diet in the U. S. contains 130 grams of sugar. If all of this were replaced with the 4.3 grams of cyclamate (or 0.3 gram of saccharin) giving equivalent sweet­ness, the calorie counter could lop off 500 calories from his daily total in a controlled diet.

It is unlikely that a reduction as large as this is practical with today's array of dietetic foods, bu t even a fraction of this cut back in intake would be appreciated b y many individuals if it could be done "painlessly"' without cut­ting down apparent food intake.

Epoxy Resin Hardener Hooker Electrochemical has intro­

duced H E T Anhydride. Company says one of the ma-:or uses -or tb-~ «*»*.« product will b e as a hardener or curing agent for liquid epoxy resins.

H E T Anhydride is said to contribute two properties previously unavailable in commonly used hardeners, namely, fire resistance and high temperature strength. ASTM heat distortion values approach 200° C. An additional ad­vantage, says company, is that no der-matological effects have been observed with new compound. It has good elec­trical characteristics, retaining them at high operating temperatures.

Hooker says the compound, having a minimum puri ty of 99%, is readily available in substantial semicommercial quantities. CS 1

Alcoholysis Catalyst A new catalyst, h thium ricinoleate,

offered by Baker Castor Oil is said to be faster and more reliable than any ester-interchange agent now in use.

Baker says advantages a re : no poisoning by residual phthalic; ideal in fusion cooks; reduction of alcoholysis reaction time; no formation of colloidal metallic phthalates; production of light-colored, precipitate-free monoglycer-ides; and fact that it can be used with glycerol or pentaerythri tol as polyol. Additionally, new catalyst is said to be effective for all oils, particularly dehy­drated castor oils. CS 2

Further useful information | on Chemicals mentioned is | readily avai lable . . . j

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OCT. 17, i 95 5 C & E N 4 4 6 5

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CHEMICALS

Piezoelectric Ceramics T h e National Bureau of Standards

has developed several lead oxide—based piezoelectric ceramics having excellent electromechanical properties and which are stable over a wide temperature range.

T h e compositions were developed by B. Jaffe, R. S. Roth, and S. Marzullo of t he bureau's Mineral Products Labs_ under sponsorship of the Army's Office of Ordnance Research. According to the bureau, some of these compositions are expected t o find considerable appli­cation as transducers for sensing ele­ments in accelerometers, sound detec­tors, sonar, velocimeters, strain and pressure gages, and as drivers in ultra­sonic devices.

These materials, says the bureau, can be expected to replace barium titanate in many applications and to extend the use of ceramic transducers.

ψ Βϊο-καα Labs is ottering for the first t ime analytical grade chromatographic alumina and anion exchange resins which have been t reated with an in­dicating dye t o change color reversibly in going from hydroxide to other ionic forms. CS 3 • Epoxy adhesive offered by Mirace Adhesives is designated Epoxy Resin Complex No. 285. Resin requires no mixing and is said t o have an extended pot life of 30 days and over. CS 4

• J a sono l s Chemical is offering a re­agent for the determination of thorium, t rade named Thoron. Compound is the disodium salt of a sulfonated naph-thol derivative. Thoron, according to company, is a very sensitive reagent for determination of microgram quantities of thorium. CS 5

• Atlant ic Chemical is offering a new range of stabilized azoic dyes tuff s dubbed Atlantic Neutrazoics. They are said to eliminate need for acid ag­ing when printing rayon and cotton. T h e new colors are naphthol-salt com­binations which are stabilized through the use of new compounds and which develop in neutral steam. CS6

• Fallek Products is now distributing D e h y d a g Wax Ν as well as related or similar compounds, Dehydag Wax E, O, and SX, The products, produced by Dehydag-Deutsche Hydrierwerke G.m.b.H., Dusseldorf, West Germany, were introduced in Europe in the early 30*s as Lanette Wax Ν and are used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic in­dustries. Fallek is able to supply sam­ples. CS7

dispersion

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