| dc.description.abstract | Artificial sweeteners have become a comparable option to sugar, especially for those who cannot tolerate sugar in their diets, such as diabetics. There have been many stated negative effects resulting from the consumption of artificial sweeteners, which may result from the metabolism of the artificial sweeteners. Research has shown that aspartame is hydrolyzed into aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol. Methanol is further metabolized into products that contribute to mitochondrial damage and the generation of superoxide, peroxyl, and hydroxy radicals. Increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial damage can lead to oxidative stress, which may trigger of apoptosis in cells and cause DNA damage. An HAO strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was cultured and grown in glucose and other artificial sweeteners. OD600 readings were taken using a UV-VIS spectrophotometer to determine if artificial sweeteners inhibited cell growth. Absorbance was measured at 412 nm using the UV-VIS spectrophotometer and compared with the molar absorptivity of TNB to get a concentration of TNB in moles. An increase in ROS is expected in the yeast cells fed with artificial sweeteners as compared to those fed with glucose. Furthermore, due to the by-products of metabolism, Aspartame is expected to have the greatest increase in ROS. | en_US |
