Erythritol, a Non-Nutritive Sugar Alcohol Sweetener and the Main Component of Truvia®, Is a Palatable Ingested Insecticide
نویسندگان
چکیده
Insecticides have a variety of commercial applications including urban pest control, agricultural use to increase crop yields, and prevention of proliferation of insect-borne diseases. Many pesticides in current use are synthetic molecules such as organochlorine and organophosphate compounds. Some synthetic insecticides suffer drawbacks including high production costs, concern over environmental sustainability, harmful effects on human health, targeting non-intended insect species, and the evolution of resistance among insect populations. Thus, there is a large worldwide need and demand for environmentally safe and effective insecticides. Here we show that Erythritol, a non-nutritive sugar alcohol, was toxic to the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Ingested erythritol decreased fruit fly longevity in a dose-dependent manner, and erythritol was ingested by flies that had free access to control (sucrose) foods in choice and CAFE studies. Erythritol was US FDA approved in 2001 and is used as a food additive in the United States. Our results demonstrate, for the first time, that erythritol may be used as a novel, environmentally sustainable and human safe approach for insect pest control.
منابع مشابه
Non-Nutritive Polyol Sweeteners Differ in Insecticidal Activity When Ingested by Adult Drosophila melanogaster (Diptera: Drosophilidae)
Previous work showed the non-nutritive polyol sweetener Erythritol was toxic when ingested by Drosophila melanogaster (Meigen, 1930). This study assessed whether insect toxicity is a general property of polyols. Among tested compounds, toxicity was highest for erythritol. Adult fruit flies (D. melanogaster) fed erythritol had reduced longevity relative to controls. Other polyols did not reduce ...
متن کاملEffect of Sucrose Replacement by Stevia as a Non-Nutritive Sweetener and Bulking Compounds on Physiochemical Properties of Foodstuffs
Background & Aim: Changes in lifestyle, decrease in physical exercise along with incidence of obesity, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases indicate a need for low calorie formulations. The sweetness of Stevia, a natural sweetener, is estimated to be 300 times as much as that of sugar. Extraction of stevia leaves is considered a promoter of calorie balance and a beneficial part of a healt...
متن کاملEffect of Sucrose Replacement by Stevia as a Non-Nutritive Sweetener and Bulking Compounds on Physiochemical Properties of Foodstuffs
Background & Aim: Changes in lifestyle, decrease in physical exercise along with incidence of obesity, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases indicate a need for low calorie formulations. The sweetness of Stevia, a natural sweetener, is estimated to be 300 times as much as that of sugar. Extraction of stevia leaves is considered a promoter of calorie balance and a beneficial part of a healt...
متن کاملNutritive and Non-Nutritive Sweeteners: A Review
The importance of sugar as the principal dietary substrate that drives the caries process has led to growing interest in sugar substitutes. Dynamic relation exists between sugars and oral health. Dental profession shares an interest in the search for safe, palatable sugar substitutes to prevent dental caries and have attempted to persuade their patients to adopt special dietary programs to limi...
متن کاملTea-induced calmness: Sugar-sweetened tea calms consumers exposed to acute stressor
The food and beverage industry has been increasingly replacing sugar with non-nutritive sweeteners in their sweetened products to control or reduce total calories. Research comparing the effect of nutritive and non-nutritive sweeteners on emotional state of participants exposed to acute stressors is still limited. This study aimed to determine the effect of drinking tea sweetened with either a ...
متن کامل