A Sweetener 3,500 Times Sweeter Than Sugar... Without Raising Insulin or Glucose!
Amai Proteins, a biotechnology company, announced that its researchers have successfully developed and innovated a protein-based sweetener alternative named “Sweelin” through a recent clinical study. Sweelin is approximately 3,500 times sweeter than sucrose by weight and produces no significant effect on blood glucose and insulin responses.
ScienceAlert published a detailed report on the trial results, noting that it is the first of its kind to test the metabolic effects of so-called “sweet proteins.”
According to the report, the design of the sweetener “Sweelin” was inspired by a natural protein found in the rare tropical fruit known as serendipity berry, which grows in the rainforests of West and Central Africa and contains one of the sweetest proteins known to date. Researchers explained that the team developed the engineered version of the protein with the aid of artificial intelligence technologies, resulting in a sweetener in the form of a white powder that dissolves easily in liquids.
The double-blind, randomized clinical trial was funded by the developing company and supervised by its researchers. It involved 19 participants, whose glucose, insulin, and GLP-1 hormone levels were monitored for 120 minutes after consuming a beverage containing a high dose of Sweelin. Researchers compared the participants’ response to the new sweetener with their responses to two other beverages subjected to the same trial in the same random order. The study included:
• A beverage sweetened with stevia, a plant known to cause no significant change in glucose or insulin levels.
• A beverage sweetened with dextrose, a type of sugar extracted from corn or wheat that typically causes a sharp glucose response.
• A beverage containing a high dose of Sweelin itself, which all participants consumed without knowing which sweetener they were ingesting.
The results showed that Sweelin’s performance was similar to that of stevia, recording a glucose response 31 times lower than that of dextrose, while the insulin response was 81 times lower. Researchers noted that the new sweetener did not cause any significant rise in GLP-1 hormone, which is usually secreted after eating.
In their study published in the scientific journal Food Chemistry, researchers emphasized that the absence of any rise in this hormone is particularly significant for individuals with type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, or obesity, as post-meal glucose spikes contribute to an increased long-term risk of cardiovascular disease in these groups.
The developing company noted that Sweelin is heat-stable and can replace up to 70 percent of the sugar required in certain recipes, as a very small amount—less than 3 milligrams—is sufficient to sweeten a cup of iced tea.
Earlier in 2026, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated that it had no objections to the company’s conclusion that the sweetener is safe for human consumption, making Sweelin currently available as a sugar alternative in the United States and Singapore.
Researchers stressed that although the trial yielded promising results, it remained limited in size and duration, lasting only two hours and involving a small number of participants. This necessitates broader and longer-term studies to verify the long-term effects of Sweelin before recommending its widespread use as a reliable sugar alternative for individuals with metabolic disorders.
