New Study Suggests Artificial Sweetener Causes Cancer In Rats At Levels Currently Approved For Humans

[Guest guest]

New Study Suggests Artificial Sweetener Causes Cancer In Rats At

Levels Currently Approved For Humans

A statistically significant increase in the incidence of malignant

tumors, lymphomas and leukemias in rats exposed to varying doses of

aspartame appears to link the artificial sweetener to a high

carcinogenicity rate, according to a study accepted for publication

by the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP).

The authors of the study, the first to demonstrate multipotential

carcinogenic effects of aspartame administered to rats in feed,

called for an " urgent reevaluation " of the current guidelines for the

use and consumption of this compound.

" Our study has shown that aspartame is a multipotential carcinogenic

compound whose carcinogenic effects are also evident at a daily dose

of 20 milligrams per kilogram of body weight (mg/kg), notably less

than the current acceptable daily intake for humans, " the authors

write. Currently, the acceptable daily intake for humans is set at 50

mg/kg in the United States and 40 mg/kg in Europe.

Aspartame is the second most widely used artificial sweetener in the

world. It is found in more than 6,000 products including carbonated

and powdered soft drinks, hot chocolate, chewing gum, candy,

desserts, yogurt, and tabletop sweeteners, as well as some

pharmaceutical products like vitamins and sugar-free cough drops.

More than 200 million people worldwide consume it. The sweetener has

been used for more than 30 years, having first been approved by the

FDA in 1974. Studies of the carcinogenicity of aspartame performed by

its producers have been negative.

Researchers administered aspartame to Sprague-Dawley rats by adding

it to a standard diet. They began studying the rats at 8 weeks of age

and continued until the spontaneous death of each rat. Treatment

groups received feed that contained concentrations of aspartame at

dosages simulating human daily intakes of 5,000, 2,500, 500, 100, 20,

and 4 mg/kg body weight. Groups consisted of 100 males and 100

females at each of the three highest dosages and 150 males and 150

females at all lower dosages and controls.

The experiment ended after the death of the last animal at 159 weeks.

At spontaneous death, each animal underwent examination for

microscopic changes in all organs and tissues, a process different

from the aspartame studies conducted 30 years ago and one that was

designed to allow aspartame to fully express any carcinogenic potential.

The treated animals showed extensive evidence of malignant cancers

including lymphomas, leukemias, and tumors at multiple organ sites in

both males and females. The authors speculate the increase in

lymphomas and leukemias may be related to one of the metabolites in

aspartame, namely methanol, which is metabolized in both rats and

humans to formaldehyde. Both methanol and formaldehyde have shown

links to lymphomas and leukemias in other long-term experiments by

the same authors.

The current study included more animals over a longer period than

earlier studies. " In our opinion, previous studies did not comply

with today's basic requirements for testing the carcinogenic

potential of a physical or chemical agent, in particular concerning

the number of rodents for each experimental group (40-86, compared to

100-150 in the current study) and the termination of previous studies

at only 110 weeks of age of the animals, " the study authors wrote.

The authors of the study were Morando Soffritti, Fiorella Belpoggi,

e Degli Esposti, Luca Lambertini, Eva Tibaldi, and Rigano

of the Cesare Maltoni Cancer Research Center, European Ramazzini

Foundation of Oncology and Environmental Sciences, Bologna, Italy.

Funding for the research was provided by the European Ramazzini

Foundation of Oncology and Environmental Sciences, Bologna, Italy.

The article is available free of charge at http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/

docs/2005/8711/abstract.html.

EHP is published by the National Institute of Environmental Health

Sciences (NIEHS), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human

Services. EHP EHP is an Open Access journal. More information is

available online at http://www.ehponline.org/. Brogan & Partners

Convergence Marketing handles marketing and public relations for EHP,

and is responsible for creation and distribution of this press release.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/02/060213093019.htm