saccharin (redirected from E954)

saccharin (săk`ərĭn), C₇H₅NSO₃, white, crystalline, aromatic compound. It was discovered accidentally by I. Remsen and C. Fahlberg in 1879. Pure saccharin tastes several hundred times as sweet as sugar. It is not readily soluble in water, but its sodium salt, which is sold commercially, dissolves readily. Saccharin has no nutritional value and is excreted unchanged by the body. It is used as a sweetener by persons who must limit their consumption of sugar. Despite the fact that saccharin causes cancer in laboratory rats, its ban was rescinded after a public outcry. In 1984 the World Health Organization suggested an intake limit of 2.5 mg/day per kg bodyweight. Other nonnutritive artificial sweeteners include sodium cyclamate and aspartame.

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saccharin

Synthetic organic compound, C₇H₅NSO₃, that is 200–700 times as sweet as cane sugar. The sodium or calcium salt of saccharin is widely used as a diet sweetener. Though approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory bodies around the world, its safety is controversial because it appears to be a weak carcinogen. See also aspartame.

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saccharin

a very sweet white crystalline slightly soluble powder used as a nonfattening sweetener. Formula: C₇H₅NO₃S

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saccharin [′sak·ə·rən]

(organic chemistry)

C₆H₄COSO₂NH A sweet-tasting, white powder, soluble in acetates, benzene, and alcohol; slightly soluble in water and ether; melts at 228°C; used as a sugar substitute for syrups, and in medicines, foods, and beverages. Also known as benzosulfimide; gluside.