Study of thermally induced interactions between theobromine and various sweeteners

In the past few decades, theobromine has been discovered to play an important role in dental caries prevention being used in different toothpastes for children. Theobromine is recognized in the literature for the vasodilatation effect, for stimulation of heart, etc. Sweeteners are known to be present in two different forms, such as natural and synthetic sweeteners, both with applications in different types of foods. The aim of this study was to obtain a perspective on the compatibility of different sweeteners with theobromine. The compatibility of the selected sweeteners (Ar. gum; trehalose; lactose; sorbitol; fructose; glucose; and galactose) with Th has been studied to verify whether these sweeteners can be used in the preparation of chewing gum or candy with properties in the prevention of caries in children. In order to evaluate the compatibility between the sweeteners and the active substance, the binary systems were designed in a 1:1 ratio. The investigation techniques used during the study were attenuated by total reflection of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and thermoanalytical techniques: thermogravimetry (TG)/derivative thermogravimetry (DTG)/heat flow (HF). The ATR-FTIR clearly suggested absence of the interaction at room temperature between sweetener and active substance for all designed systems. Thermal analysis (TG/DTG/HF) performed on open crucibles in a dynamic air atmosphere suggested that the systems designed for trehalose/Th are not possible to be used in both types of formulations (medicated chewing gum and candy). System designed for lactose/Th can be used in chewing gum preparation but for candy formulation is not feasible to be used because the degradation process is starting close to the lower temperature used in candy preparation process.