| Abstract | Sladila su tvari koje daju slatki okus i dodaju se u hranu i piće. Danas se sve više teži tome da klasičan šećer, odnosno saharoza, bude zamijenjen nekom vrstom sladila kako bi se smanjila energetska vrijednost prehrambenih proizvoda i prevenirala pojava bolesti uzrokovanih prekomjernim unosom rafiniranih šećera. Prema kemijskom sastavu razlikuju se ugljikohidratna sladila kojima slatkoću daju ugljikohidratne jedinice, te neugljikohidratna kojima slatkoću mogu dati proteini, glikozidi i druge molekule. Prema intenzitetu slatkoće sladila mogu biti intenzivna i ekstenzivna, a prema energetskoj vrijednosti nutritivna i nenutritivna. Relativna slatkoća (RS) intenzivnih sladila ima raspon od 50 do 8000 u odnosu na saharozu koja je standard i čija relativna slatkoća iznosi 1. Nutritivna sladila imaju energetsku vrijednost, a nenutritivna sladila se ne metaboliziraju u organizmu i stoga nemaju nutritivnu vrijednost. Prema podrijetlu ih se dijeli na prirodna i umjetna sladila. Upotreba prirodnih sladila započela je prije puno godina otkrićem meda, voća i slatkih biljaka te njihovom primjenom kao sladila. Posebno se tu izdvaja stevija izolirana iz listova biljke Stevia rebaudiana koja se koristi već neko vrijeme na europskom tržištu. Zbog njihovih pozitivnih svojstava pojačana je potraga za novim izvorima prirodnih sladila, o kojima će, uz steviju, biti više riječi u ovom radu. |
| Abstract (english) | Sweeteners are substances that give a sweet taste and are added to food and drinks. Today, there is an increasing tendecy to replace classic sugar, i.e. sucrose, with some kind of sweetener in order to reduce the energy value of food products and prevent the occurrence of diseases caused by excessive intake of refined sugars. According to the chemical composition, there are carbohydrate sweeteners, which are given sweetness by carbohydrate units, and non- carbohydrate sweeteners, which can be given sweetness by proteins, glycosides and other molecules. According to the intensity of sweetness, sweeteners can be either intensive or extensive, and according to their energy value, nutritive or non-nutritive. The relative sweetness (RS) of intense sweeteners ranges from 50 to 8000 compared to sucrose, which is the standard and whose relative sweetness is 1. Nutritive sweeteners have energy value, while non-nutritive are not metabolised in the body and therefore have no nutritional value. According to their origin, it could be divided into natural and artificial sweeteners. The use of natural sweeteners began many years ago with discovery of honey, fruits and sweet plants and their use as sweeteners. Stevia isolated from the leaves of the Stevia rebaudiana plant, which has been used for some time on the European market, stands out. Because of their positive properties, the search for new sources of natural sweeteners has increased, which, along with stevia, will be discussed in more detail in this paper. |
