phenylalanine / phenylaniline

[ttweed@wildrockies.org (Tony Tweedale)]

a couple people asked me about my toxicity of aspartame reference in an
earlier post on this subject.  I finally dug out the nltr I saw it in
(earth island j. fall '97, p.29).  it says:

-aspartame's ingredients are aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methyl alcohol.
-symptoms of aspartame exposure are neuorological (headaches, nausea,
vision, siezures) & cancer
-from 0.06% aspartame in diet sodas, degradation products (NJ 6th grader
Jennifer Cohen's experiment, at 35, 80 & 104 d. F, 10 weeks) of methyl
alcohol were formaldehyde (53.5 ppb -> 231 ppb) &  diketopiperazine (DKP,
0.001 -> 0.010%).  [formaldehyde is a known or probable mutagenic human
carcinogen, and these are significant exposure levels--the 231 ppb occured
from cans held at room temp.].  her double blind taste test showed a strong
dislike of the 104d F soda.