Glutamic acid is a non-essential aminoacid used in biosynthesis of proteins. Besides being a building block of proteins, glutamic acid plays a principal role in neural activation. Glutamate is also responsible for the umami (savory) flavor of certain foods. In medicine, glutamate is used as a metabolic supplemnet in patients undergoing coronary surgery.

Erythritol is a four carbon sugar that is found in algae, fungi, and lichens. It is twice as sweet as sucrose and has been approved by the United States and EU Food and Drug Administrations for use as a low-calorie sweetener. Erythritol is well tolerated and elicits no toxicological effects. It is rapidly absorbed and quantitatively excreted without metabolic change. Erythritol has been investigated as a food supplement to treat Endothelial Function related to Type II diabetes. It has also been studied for the prevention of gingivitis and carries.

Ethyl maltol, a key food additive, and flavor enhancer is safe and is the most common sweet-associated component in electronic cigarette liquids. Ethyl maltol binds to human serum albumin (HSA) by situating within subdomain IIA (site I) of HSA.

Maltol is a naturally occurring organic compound isolated from pine needles, larch bark, the destructive distillates of various organic materials and the alkaline hydrolysis products of streptomycin. Because of caramel-butterscotch odor, and suggestive of fruity-strawberry aroma in dilute solutions, maltol is used as a food additive mainly in confectionary and bakery products. Maltol is considered safe by FDA according to existing data and granted GRAS status. Maltol chelates metal ions such as Fe3+, Al3+, and is reported to increase uptake of aluminum and iron in the body. Maltol was reported to have a neuroprotective effect on retinal ganglion cells under oxidative stress, and hepatoprotective effect on alcohol-induced liver oxidative injury.

Neotame is a derivative of a dipeptide compound of the amino acids - aspartic acid and phenylalanine. Neotame has been developed as a sweetener with a high degree of sweetness and is obtained by N-alkylating aspartame. Its degree of sweetness varies according to the kind of food and blend composition. It is 7000 to 13,000 times and about 30 to 60 times sweeter than sugar and aspartame respectively. Neotame is rapidly metabolized, completely eliminated and does not accumulate in the body. The major metabolic pathway of neotame is hydrolysis of the methyl ester by esterase which is present throughout the body. This yields de-esterified neotame, the major metabolite and a significant amount of methanol. Due to the presence of the 3-3-di-methylbutyl group, peptidases which would typically break the peptide bond between the aspartic acid and phenylalanine moieties are essentially blocked, thus reducing the availability of phenylalanine. Neotame was approved by the USFDA as a general purpose sweetener in July 2002