Lugduname is one of the most potent sweetening agents known. Lugduname has been estimated to be between 220,000 and 300,000 times as sweet as sucrose

Sucrose

Sucrose is the organic compound commonly known as table sugar and sometimes called saccharose. A white, odorless, crystalline powder with a sweet taste, it is best known for its role in human nutrition. The molecule is a disaccharide composed of glucose and fructose with the molecular formula...

 (table sugar), with estimates varying between studies. It had been developed at University of Lyon

University of Lyon

The University of Lyon , located in Lyon and Saint Etienne, France, is a center for higher education and research comprising 16 institutions of higher education...

 in 1996. Lugduname is part of a family of extremely potent, guanidinocarboxylic acid, sweeteners with acetic acid functional groups on guanidine

Guanidine

Guanidine is a crystalline compound of strong alkalinity formed by the oxidation of guanine. It is used in the manufacture of plastics and explosives. It is found in urine as a normal product of protein metabolism. The molecule was first synthesized in 1861 by the oxidative degradation of an...

. It has not yet been approved for use in foods.