Distinct sweet taste phenotypes: Investigating perceptual and hedonic responses to non-nutritive and caloric sweeteners

Sweet taste perception plays a critical role in shaping food choices and dietary behaviors, with implications for overall health. Sweet taste phenotypes, such as sweet liker status (SLS) for caloric sweeteners like sucrose, have been well-characterized, identifying individual differences in the liking of sweet taste. However, sweetness can be elicited by a wide range of compounds, including non-nutritive sweeteners (NNSs), which are commonly used as sugar substitutes to lower sugar intake. Despite the increasing use of NNSs in the food supply, little is known about individual differences in hedonic responses to these compounds, and whether sweet taste phenotypes extend to NNSs. To address this gap, the present study investigated whether SLS profiles for NNSs, specifically Acesulfame-K (Ace-K) and Rebaudioside A (RebA), are comparable to sweet liking profiles for sucrose. A total of 121 participants provided intensity and hedonic ratings across five concentrations of sucrose, Ace-K, and RebA, using the general Labeled Magnitude Scale (gLMS) and a bipolar hedonic scale, respectively. Results revealed that sweet liking phenotypes identified for NNSs were distinct from those observed for sucrose, with minimal overlap in perceptual-hedonic patterns across sweetener types. These findings suggest that hedonic responses to NNSs cannot be inferred from responses to sucrose alone, and as expected, the side-tastes of Ace-K and RebA are associated with reduced overall liking. Overall, this study highlights the importance of considering sweetener-specific perceptual and hedonic profiles when assessing individual differences in sweet taste preferences.