Saccharin:

People have always enjoyed the "sweet" life. Cave drawings from 20,000 years ago, of a man robbing a bees’ nest for honey, show that the desire for sweetness was alive and well even then. Given the lifestyle, it is unlikely the cave man depicted was overweight ....you burn a lot of calories robbing those bees’ nests....

But in the 20th century — with the comforts and technology that make our lives perhaps the most sedentary in history — people want sweetness without extra calories. Fortunately, a low-calorie sweetener came on the scene just in time - saccharin, the world’s oldest artificial sweetener...

Saccharin is an artificial sweetener...The basic substance...benzoic sulfilimine... has effectively no food energy and is much sweeter than sucrose...

Saccharin was discovered in 1879 by researchers at Johns Hopkins University. Even then, it was a boon to food manufacturers and consumers, especially those with diabetes, who could use the new ingredient to sweeten their foods and beverages without the calories or glucose reaction associated with many sweeteners...

The availability of saccharin and other low-calorie sweeteners allows manufacturers to use the most appropriate sweetener, or combination of sweeteners, for a given product. In fact, saccharin is the foundation for many low-calorie and sugar-free products around the world. It is used in tabletop sweeteners, baked goods, jams, chewing gum, canned fruit, candy, dessert toppings and salad dressings. It also is useful in cosmetic products, vitamins and pharmaceuticals. It is popular (especially in Europe) in sweetener blends for various products...