Amai Proteins Ltd. developed a hyper-sweet protein, sweelin®, intended to enable sugar reduction without sacrificing sweetness. The metabolically neutral profile of novel sweeteners is a key consideration for their use in sugar-reduction strategies. This randomized, double-blind, crossover study compared the acute metabolic responses to sweelin®, a stevia extract (Reb‑M), and an energy-containing sweetener (dextrose) in healthy adult volunteers.
The trial was conducted as a double-blind, randomized crossover study. Each participant served as their own control by consuming all three test beverages in randomized order. The enrolled population comprised healthy adults; the full manuscript reports that 19 participants completed all three study arms (n = 19). The study measured short-term post-consumption endocrine and glycemic responses over a 120-minute period.
Three beverages were prepared and matched for perceived sweetness. The test agents and nominal doses were:
Beverages were consumed on separate study visits in randomized order under double-blind conditions so that participants and study staff remained unaware of treatment allocation during conduct and primary analysis.
Primary biochemical endpoints included blood glucose and insulin measured at baseline and at multiple time points up to 120 minutes after beverage consumption. GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide 1) was also measured in blood samples collected over the same sampling window. Incremental area under the curve (iAUC) calculations were used to summarize overall post-consumption responses.
Across all post-consumption time points and when summarized by iAUC, both glucose and insulin values were significantly lower following sweelin® than after the dextrose beverage (p < 0.0001). The glycemic and insulinemic responses to sweelin® were not different from those observed with the stevia (Reb‑M) beverage. These findings indicate that acute consumption of sweelin® did not increase blood glucose or insulin relative to a non-nutritive sweetener and produced markedly lower responses than a 75 g dextrose load.
The study reports that GLP-1 levels did not increase after sweelin® consumption. Overall tolerability was described as acceptable in this cohort of healthy adults; the abstract states that sweelin® was well tolerated. No detailed adverse event tables are provided in the abstract; the source notes tolerability but does not enumerate specific adverse events in this summary.
The authors conclude that sweelin® is metabolically neutral in healthy adults with respect to acute glucose, insulin, and GLP-1 responses and may serve as an alternative to caloric sweeteners for individuals seeking to reduce sugar intake. The trial provides evidence that a very low dose of a sweet protein (0.051 g) can be matched for perceived sweetness against a high-calorie dextrose beverage (75 g) and not elicit the same glycemic or insulinemic response.
Limitations apparent from the source abstract include the small sample size (n = 19) and the inclusion of healthy adult participants only; the abstract does not report results for people with obesity, impaired glucose tolerance, or diabetes. The summary does not present full methodological details, subgroup analyses, or long-term safety and efficacy data. Those seeking additional detail should consult the full text for methods, statistical analysis plans, and any reported adverse events.
This trial was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov under identifier NCT06520293. The study was funded by Amai Proteins Ltd. Several authors are employees of Amai Proteins Ltd.; one author served as a scientific consultant to the company on an ad hoc basis. INQUIS Clinical Research provided consulting and data analysis support and employed at least one co-author. The authors stated that all study personnel, including company employees, were blinded to treatment allocation during conduct and analysis of the trial.
In this randomized, double-blind, crossover trial of 19 healthy adults, acute consumption of sweelin® (0.051 g) in a sweetness-matched beverage did not increase blood glucose, insulin, or GLP-1 compared with dextrose and produced responses similar to stevia (Reb‑M). The product was reported to be well tolerated. Funding and author affiliations related to the manufacturer are declared in the article.