Stevia ve farklı polioller kullanılarak şekersiz sakız üretimi
Production of sugar-free chewing gum using stevia and different polyols
Yazar: AYŞE AYKUT
Danışman: DR. ÖĞR. ÜYESİ CELALE KIRKIN GÖZÜKIRMIZI
İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi / Lisansüstü Eğitim Enstitüsü / Gıda Mühendisliği Ana Bilim Dalı / Gıda Mühendisliği Bilim Dalı
Derece: Yüksek Lisans, 2024
Konu: Gıda Mühendisliği = Food Engineering

Özet:
Gıdalarla birlikte şeker tüketiminin çok fazla artması, bazı sağlık endişelerinin ortaya 
çıkmasına neden olmuştur. Bu endişe, insanları polioller ve yüksek yoğunluklu 
tatlandırıcılar gibi farklı şeker alternatifleri aramaya yöneltmiştir. Polioller, tatlılıkları 
ve fiziksel özellikleri bakımından şekere benzedikleri için toplu şeker ikamesi olarak 
kullanılabilmektedirler. Düşük kalorili oldukları ve kandaki glikoz seviyesini 
yükseltmedikleri için gıda endüstrisinde birden farklı amaçla birçok alanda 
kullanılmaktadırlar. Yoğun tatlandırıcılar ise sakkarozdan daha yüksek tatlandırma 
gücüne sahip oldukları için çok düşük dozlarda kullanılmaları yeterlidir ve 
yönetmeliklerle kullanımları sınırlandırılmıştır. Genellikle, polioller ve yüksek 
yoğunluklu tatlandırıcılar gıda endüstrisinde birlikte kullanılmaktadırlar. Yoğun 
tatlandırıcılar üretim şekillerine göre doğal ve yapay olarak sınıflandırılabilirler. Doğal 
ve şekersiz beslenmeye olan ilginin her geçen gün artması, tatlandırıcı tercihinde de 
doğal tatlandırıcıların kullanımına eğilimi artırmıştır. Bu eğilime paralel olarak, doğal 
bir tatlandırıcı olan stevia kullanımı yaygınlaşmakta, hem gıda endüstrisinde hem de 
mutfaklarda çeşitli ürünlerde karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, yaygın 
olarak kullanılan yapay tatlandırıcı aspartam yerine doğal tatlandırıcı stevia 
kullanımının yanı sıra sorbitol ve ksilitol poliollerinin kullanımının sakızların duyusal, 
renk ve doku özellikleri üzerindeki etkilerini araştırmaktır. 
Bu çalışmada tatlandırıcı ve polioller dışındaki bileşenlerin miktarları sabit tutularak 
altı farklı reçete (sorbitol + aspartam, sorbitol + stevia, sorbitol + ksilitol + aspartam, 
sorbitol + ksilitol + stevia, ksilitol + aspartam, ksilitol + stevia) oluşturulmuştur. Poliol 
olarak sadece ksilitol kullanılarak hazırlanan reçeteler ön deneme aşamasında yapısal 
olarak başarısız olduğu için çalışmaya kalan dört reçete ile devam edilmiştir. Tüm 
örnekler üç kopya olarak hazırlanmış ve renk, duyusal ve doku özelliklerindeki 
farklılıklar değerlendirilmiştir. Hızlandırılmış raf ömrü testleri (AST) ile de sakızların 
depolama sırasındaki stabilitesi değerlendirilmiştir.
Renk özellikleri için genel değerlendirmeye bakıldığında, örneklerin L* ve a* 
değerlerinde zamanla azalma görülürken, hue açısı, b* ve kroma değerlerinde zamanla 
artma görülmüştür (p<0.05). Sorbitol ve ksilitolün birlikte kullanıldığı örneklerin L* 
değeri, sadece sorbitol kullanılan örneklere göre daha düşük çıkmıştır (p<0.05). 
Aspartam kullanılan örneklerde de, sorbitol ve ksilitol kullanılan örnekler sadece 
sorbitol kullanılan örneklere göre daha düşük a* değerine sahiptir (p<0.05). En yüksek 
hue açısı değeri sorbitol, ksilitol ve aspartam kullanılan örneklerde çıkmıştır (p<0.05). 
b* ve kroma değerleri için ise örnekler arasında anlamlı bir fark bulunmamıştır 
(p>0.05). Doku özellikleri için genel değerlendirmeye bakıldığında, örneklerin sertlik 
değerinde zamanla azalma görülürken (p<0.05), iç yapışkanlık ve dış yapışkanlık 
değerlerinde zamanla değişim görülmemiştir (p>0.05). Esneklik ve çiğnenebilirlik 
değerleri ise 0. haftadan sonra önemli derecede azalmıştır (p<0.05). Sorbitol ve
ksilitolün birlikte kullanıldığı örneklerin sertlik değeri, sadece sorbitol kullanılan 
örneklere göre daha düşük çıkmıştır (p<0.05). Sorbitol ve aspartamın kullanıldığı 
örneklerin esneklik ve çiğnenebilirlik değerleri diğer örneklere göre daha yüksek, dış 
yapışkanlık değeri ise diğer örneklere göre daha düşüktür (p<0.05). Örneklerin iç 
yapışkanlık değerleri arasında ise anlamlı bir fark bulunmamıştır (p>0.05). Yedi 
panelist ile yapılan duyusal analiz sonuçlarının genel değerlendirmesi incelendiğinde, 
örneklerin parlaklık, nane kokusu, tatlılık, aroma yoğunluğu, ferahlık, sertlik ve genel 
beğenide zamanla azalma gözlenirken (p<0.05), yapışkanlık değeri zamanla 
değişmemiştir (p>0.05). Sorbitol ve ksilitolün birlikte kullanıldığı örneklerin nane 
kokusu, çiğnemenin 5. dakika sonundaki aroma yoğunluğu ve ferahlığı, sertliği, 
çiğnenebilirliği ve genel beğenisi, sadece sorbitol kullanılan örneklere göre daha düşük 
çıkarken; çiğnemenin ilk 1 dakikasındaki tatlılıkları daha yüksek çıkmıştır (p<0.05). 
Örneklerin parlaklıkları, 1. dakikadaki aroma yoğunlukları, 5. dakikadaki tatlılıkları 
ve yapışkanlıkları arasında ise anlamlı bir fark yoktur (p>0.05). Ayrıca, örneklerin 
hiçbirinde istenmeyen koku, acılık ve istenmeyen tat tespit edilmemiştir. 
Sonuç olarak, stevianın önemli bir olumsuz etkisi gözlenmemiştir ve bu da şekersiz 
sakız üretiminde potansiyel kullanımını düşündürmektedir. Bileşen oranlarında 
ayarlamalar yapılarak farklı poliollerle kullanımı incelenebilir.

Abstract:
The high consumption of sugar with food has led to a number of health concerns. This 
concern has led people to look for different sugar alternatives such as polyols and high 
intensity sweeteners. Polyols can be used as bulk sugar substitutes because they 
resemble sugar in terms of sweetness and physical properties. Since they are low in 
calories and do not increase the level of glucose in the blood, they are used in many 
areas for multiple purposes in the food industry. On the other hand, intense sweeteners 
have a higher sweetness than sucrose, so they need to be used in very low doses and 
their use is limited by regulations. Generally, polyols and high intensity sweeteners 
are used together in the food industry. Intense sweeteners can be classified as natural 
and artificial according to their production methods. The increasing interest in natural 
and sugar-free nutrition has increased the tendency to use natural sweeteners in 
sweetener preference. Alongside this trend, the use of stevia, a natural sweetener, is 
becoming widespread, appearing in various products in both the food industry and 
kitchens. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of using natural sweetener 
stevia instead of the commonly used artificial sweetener aspartame, as well as the use 
of sorbitol and xylitol polyols, on the sensory, color, and texture properties of chewing 
gum. 
In this study, six different recipes (sorbitol + aspartame, sorbitol + stevia, sorbitol + 
xylitol + aspartame, sorbitol + xylitol + stevia, xylitol + aspartame, xylitol + stevia) 
were created by keeping the amounts of the ingredients other than the sweeteners and 
polyols constant. As the recipes that were prepared with only xylitol as the polyol 
failed structurally in the preliminary trial phase, the study was continued with the 
remaining four recipes. All samples were prepared in triplicate, and the differences in 
the color, sensory, and texture properties were evaluated. Accelerated shelf life tests 
(AST) were also evaluated to evaluate the stability of the chewing gums during 
storage. 
When the overall evaluation for colour properties was examined, L* and a* values of 
the samples decreased with time, while hue angle, b* and chroma values increased 
with time (p<0.05). The L* value of the samples in which sorbitol and xylitol were 
used together was lower than the samples in which only sorbitol was used (p<0.05). 
As for the samples with aspartame, the samples with sorbitol and xylitol had lower a* 
values than the samples with only sorbitol (p<0.05). The highest hue angle value was 
found in samples with sorbitol, xylitol and aspartame (p<0.05). There was no 
significant difference between samples of the b* and chroma values (p>0.05).
Considering the changes over time, L*, a*, b*, h*, C* values of the samples containing 
sorbitol and aspartame did not change over time. L*, a*, b*, h*, C* values of the 
samples containing sorbitol and stevia did not change over time, while h* value 
decreased significantly in the 2nd week. L* value of samples containing sorbitol,xylitol and aspartame showed a significant decrease in the 2nd week. The a* value at 
week 2 was lower than week 0. b* and C* values did not change over time. h* value 
increased significantly at week 2. The h* value of the samples containing sorbitol, 
xylitol and stevia did not change over time. L* value decreased significantly in week 
2 compared to week 0. a* value was higher in week 0 compared to other weeks. b* 
and C* values were lower in week 0 compared to other weeks. Considering the 
evaluations between recipes, at week 0, no difference was found between the samples 
in L* and a* values. Among the samples containing stevia, the samples with xylitol 
had lower b* and C* values than the samples without xylitol. Among the samples 
containing aspartame, the samples without xylitol had lower h* values than the 
samples containing xylitol. At week 1, the samples containing xylitol had lower L* 
value than those without xylitol. There was no difference between the samples for a*, 
b*, h*, C* values. At week 2, the samples containing xylitol had lower L* values than 
those without xylitol. The samples containing sorbitol, xylitol and aspartame had 
higher a* values than the samples without xylitol. Samples containing sorbitol, xylitol 
and stevia have higher b* value than samples without xylitol. The samples containing 
sorbitol, xylitol and aspartame had higher h* values than the other samples. Among 
the samples containing stevia, the samples containing xylitol had a higher C* value 
than the samples without xylitol.
When the overall evaluation for texture properties was examined, the hardness value 
of the samples decreased with time (p<0.05), while the cohesiveness and adhesiveness 
values did not change with time (p>0.05). Springiness and chewiness values decreased 
significantly after the 0th week (p<0.05). The hardness value of the samples in which 
sorbitol and xylitol were used together was lower than the samples in which only 
sorbitol was used (p<0.05). The springiness and chewiness values of the samples in 
which sorbitol and aspartame were used were higher than the other samples, and 
adhesiveness value was lower than the other samples (p<0.05). There was no 
significant difference between cohesiveness values of the samples (p>0.05).
Considering the changes over time, the hardness and adhesiveness values of the 
samples containing sorbitol and aspartame did not change over time. Springiness and 
chewiness values decreased significantly at the week 1 and week 2. The hardness value 
of the samples containing sorbitol and stevia decreased over time, the cohesiveness 
value first increased and then decreased, and the adhesiveness value first decreased 
and then increased. Springiness value decreased significantly at the end of the 2nd 
week compared to the 0th week. The chewiness value decreased after week 0. The 
hardness value of the samples containing sorbitol, xylitol and aspartame decreased 
over time, and the cohesiveness and chewiness values at week 2 were higher than week 
0 and week 1. The adhesiveness value increased after week 0. Springiness value 
decreased significantly from week 0 to week 2. The hardness value of the samples 
containing sorbitol, xylitol and stevia decreased after week 0, while the cohesiveness 
value increased after week 0. While the springiness value did not change over time, 
the chewiness increased over time. The adhesiveness value was lower in the 1st week 
compared to the other weeks. Considering the evaluations between recipes, at week 0, 
the samples without xylitol were harder than the samples containing xylitol. The 
samples containing sorbitol and aspartame had higher cohesiveness, springiness and 
chewiness values, but lower adhesiveness values than the other samples. At week 1, 
the samples without xylitol were harder than the samples containing xylitol. There is 
no difference between the samples for springiness and adhesiveness values. The 
samples containing sorbitol and aspartame had lower cohesiveness and chewiness
values than the samples containing sorbitol and stevia and higher cohesiveness andchewiness values than the samples containing xylitol. At week 2, no difference was 
found between the samples for hardness value. The cohesiveness value of the samples 
containing sorbitol, xylitol and aspartame was higher than the samples containing 
stevia and lower than the samples containing sorbitol and aspartame. The pringiness 
and chewiness values of the samples containing sorbitol and aspartame were higher 
than the samples containing sorbitol+stevia and sorbitol+xylitol+aspartame, lower 
than the samples containing sorbitol+xylitol+stevia and the adhesiveness value was 
lower than the other samples.
When the overall evaluation of the sensory analysis results with seven panelists was 
examined, it was observed that the brightness, mint odor, sweetness, flavour intensity, 
freshness, hardness and overall liking of the samples decreased over time (p<0.05), 
while the stickiness value did not change over time (p>0.05). The samples in which 
sorbitol and xylitol were used together had lower mint odor, flavour intensity and 
freshness at the 5th minute, hardness, chewiness and overall liking than the samples in 
which only sorbitol was used, while their sweetness at the 1st minute was higher 
(p<0.05). There was no significant difference between the brightness, flavour intensity 
at 1st minute, sweetness at 5th minutes and stickiness of the samples (p>0.05). Also, 
no off-odor, bitterness and off-flavor were detected in any of the samples. Considering 
the changes over time, freshness at 5th minutes, flavour intensity at 5th minutes, 
stickiness values and overall liking of the samples containing sorbitol and aspartame 
did not change over time. There was a significant decrease in brightness, mint odor, 
freshness values at 1st and 5th minute in the 2nd week. Sweetness at 1st minute and 
flavour intensity values decreased significantly at the end of the 2nd week compared 
to the 0th week. Hardness and chewiness values were higher in week 0 compared to 
the other weeks. Sweetness at 1st and 5th minutes, flavour intensity at 5th minutes and 
stickiness values of the samples containing sorbitol and stevia did not change over 
time, while the freshness value at 1st minute decreased over time. There was a 
significant decrease in brightness, mint odor, freshness values at 5th minute and overall 
liking at 2nd week. The 1st minute flavour intensity value decreased significantly at 
the end of the 2nd week compared to the 0th week. Hardness and chewiness values 
were higher in week 0 compared to the other weeks. The brightness, sweetness at 1st 
minute and stickiness values of the samples containing sorbitol, xylitol and aspartame 
did not change over time, while the freshness value at 1st minute and overall liking 
decreased over time. Mint odor and freshness values at the 5th minute showed a 
significant decrease at the 2nd week. Flavour intensity at 1st minute, hardness and 
chewiness values were higher in week 0 compared to other weeks. Sweetness at 5th 
minutes is the highest in week 0. The 5th minute flavour intensity value decreased 
significantly at the end of the 2nd week compared to the 0th week. The brightness, 
sweetness and stickiness values at 1st and 5th minute of the samples containing 
sorbitol, xylitol and stevia did not change over time, while the freshness and chewiness 
values at 1st minute decreased over time. There was a significant decrease in mint 
odor, flavour intensity at 1st minute, freshness at 5th minute and overall liking at 2nd 
week. The 5th minute flavour intensity value decreased significantly at the end of the 
2nd week compared to the 0th week. Hardness value was higher in week 0 compared 
to the other weeks. Considering the evaluations between recipes, at week 0, no 
difference was found between the samples in terms of brightness, mint odor, flavour 
intensity and freshness at 1st minute, sweetness, flavour intensity and freshness at 5th 
minutes, chewiness, stickiness and overall liking. The sweetness value at 1st minute 
of the samples containing sorbitol and stevia was lower than the samples containing 
xylitol. The samples without xylitol were brighter than the samples containing xylitol. At week 1, the brightness, mint odor, flavour intensity at 5th minutes, hardness, 
chewiness and overall liking values of the samples containing xylitol were lower than 
the samples without xylitol. In addition, the 1st minute freshness value of the samples 
containing xylitol was lower than the samples containing sorbitol and aspartame. There 
is no difference between the samples in stickiness, sweetness and flavour intensity at 
1st minute, sweetness and freshness at 5th minutes. In the 2nd week, the brightness 
value of the the samples without xylitol was lower than the samples containing xylitol, 
while the mint odor, flavour intensity and freshness at the 5th minute, hardness, 
chewiness and overall liking values were higher. Among the samples containing 
aspartame, the sweetness value at 1st minute of the samples without xylitol was 
significantly lower than those containing xylitol. The 1st minute freshness value of the 
samples containing sorbitol, xylitol and aspartame was significantly lower than the 
samples containing sorbitol and stevia. There is no difference between the samples in 
stickiness, flavour intensity at the 1st minute and sweetness at the 5th minute.
In conclusion, no significant adverse effect of stevia was observed, suggesting its 
potential use in sugar-free gum production. Adjustments in ingredient ratios can be 
made to explore its use with different polyols.