Dulcin is an artificial sweetener about 250 times sweeter than sugar, discovered in 1883 by the Polish chemist Józef (Joseph) Berlinerblau (27 August 1859 – 1935).[1][2][3][4] It was first mass-produced about seven years later. Although it was discovered only five years after saccharin, it never enjoyed the latter compound's market success. Nevertheless, it was an important sweetener of the early 20th century and had an advantage over saccharin in that it did not possess a bitter aftertaste.
Early medical tests marked the substance as safe for human consumption, and it was considered ideal for diabetics. However, an FDA study in 1951 raised many questions about its safety, resulting in its removal from the market in 1954 after animal testing revealed chronic toxicity.[5] The FDA has also said that "the Federal Security Administrator regards these chemicals as poisonous substances which have no place in any food."[6] In Japan, poisoning accidents by dulcin occurred frequently, and use of dulcin was forbidden in 1969.[7]
Dulcin is also known by the names sucrol and valzin.[8]
An alternate way to make dulcin is by mixing urea and p-phenetidine hydrochloride to a mixture of hydrochloric acid and glacial acetic acid.[10]
Toxicity
Dulcin is toxic to rats at 0.1% of the diet and above. At 0.1%, it causes a slight slowdown in growth; at 1.0%, the slowdown is evident alongside an increase in mortality and noticeable histological changes in liver, kidney, spleen, and heart.[11]
^For a biography of Joseph Berlinerblau (with photographs), see:
Balasiewicz, Michał S. (2013). "Józef Berlinerblau i Jan Prot-Berlinerblau – współtwórcy polskiego przemysłu Polski niepodległej" [Józef Berlinerblau and Jan Prot-Berlinerblau – co-founders of Polish industry in independent Poland [i.e., the Second Polish Republic (1918–1939)]]. Przemysł Chemiczny (Chemical Industry) (in Polish). 92 (9): 1692–1700.
^"15FR321 Title 21"(PDF). FDA Federal Register. FDA. January 18, 1950. Retrieved January 11, 2021. ... Notice to manufacturers and distributors of foods and drugs containing artificial sweeteners. Chronic-toxicity studies conducted by the Food and Drug Administration show/ that the artificial sweeteners dulcin (also known as sucrol, or 4-ethoxy-phenylurea, or paraphenetolcarbamide) and P-4000 (also known as l-n-propoxy amino4-nitrobenzene) cause injury to rats when fed at relatively low levels for approximately 2 years ...'
Hodges L (1973). Environmental pollution: a survey emphasizing physical and chemical principles. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston Inc.
Nanikawa R, Kotoku S, Yamada T (January 1967). "[Death from dulcin poisoning]" [Death from dulcin poisoning]. Nihon Hoigaku Zasshi = the Japanese Journal of Legal Medicine. 21 (1): 17–24. PMID6068316.
Saito K (1969). "ズルチンによる食中毒事件" [Food poisoning case caused by dulcin]. Food Hygiene and Safety Science (Shokuhin Eiseigaku Zasshi) (in Japanese). 10 (2): 112–113. doi:10.3358/shokueishi.10.112.