International Journal of Academic Scientific Research ISSN: 2272-6446 Volume 4, Issue 2 (May - June 2016), PP 36-42 www.ijasrjournal.org www.ijasrjournal.org 36 | Page Thaumatin is similar to water in blood glucose response in Wistar rats Warid Khayata 1 , Ahmad Kamri 2 , Rasha Alsaleh 1 1 (Department of Analytical and Food Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy/ University of Aleppo, Aleppo, Syria) 2 (Department of Physiology, Faculty of Sciences/ University of Aleppo, Aleppo, Syria) ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of thaumatin; a sweet tasting protein, compared to a natural sweetener; sucrose and a synthetic one; aspartame on blood glucose level and body weight in male Wistar rats. Sucrose, aspartame, and thaumatin solutions have been administrated orally every day to adult male Wistar rats for 8 consecutive weeks. Within this period, blood glucose was monitored during two hours and body weight was measured every two weeks. It was found that compared to water, aspartame and thaumatin did not elevate blood glucose at all. Also, neither aspartame nor thaumatin affected body weight. Subsequently, thaumatin can be considered as a safer and healthier sweetener than aspartame or sucrose, because it is natural and do not cause elevating in blood glucose. Keywords: Blood glucose, Body weight, Sweetener, Thaumatin, Wistar rat GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT