Highlights

• Health and regulation necessitated sugar reduction in beverages were summarized.

• Four main strategies for sugar reduction in beverages were emphatically compared.

• Employment of artificial or natural sweeteners is currently the most effective way of sugar reduction.

• Multi-sensory integration serves as an effective strategy for sugar reduction.

• Cell-based assays can be employed to investigate the uptake mechanism of sweetness.

Abstract

Sugar, as an essential component of beverages, not only provides sweetness in beverages but also plays a significant role in their flavor, texture, and preservation. In recent years, global sugar consumption has continued to increase, causing a variety of health concerns. Currently, there is growing awareness of the adverse effects of high-sugar consumption. Since beverages are the primary source of daily sugar intake, sugar reduction in beverages is imperative. In this work, the necessity of sugar reduction in beverages was first introduced. Furthermore, four primary sugar reduction strategies (direct sugar reduction, multi-sensory integration, sweeteners, and sweetness enhancers) employed in the beverage industry were systematically summarized. Each sugar reduction strategy was critically compared, while the current research progresses as well as challenges were discussed. The application of sweeteners is the most effective and widely used strategy for sugar reduction in spite of flavor and health concerns of sweeteners. Meanwhile, multi-sensory integration is also a promising strategy for sugar reduction. In addition, different evaluation methods (chemical, cell-based and sensory methods) for sweetness were overviewed. Given the current challenges of sugar reduction, the prospects of sugar reduction in beverages were also discussed. The present work can provide the current progress for sugar reduction in the beverage industry.