Saccharin Inhibits Carbonic Anhydrases: Possible Explanation for its Unpleasant Metallic Aftertaste

Authors: Karen Köhler, Alexander Hillebrecht, Johannes Schulze Wischeler, Alessio Innocenti, A. Heine, Claudiu T. Supuran, G. Klebe - Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2007 cited by 179

A matter of taste: The sweetner saccharin (a cyclic sulfimide, see picture) is nearly completely absorbed and eliminated through the urine, and is thus exposed to many different proteins in the body. It binds at nanomolar levels to some carbonic anhydrases and this provokes the question of its inert properties. It is known that the plasma level slowly decreases after oral dosing, and CAVI binding could explain its unpleasant metallic aftertaste.