Researchers from Drexel University discovered that the non-nutritive sweetener erythritol could be used to develop a human-safe insecticide.

Erythritol is a sugar alcohol commonly used as an additive in the United States and across the world. It is up to 70 percent as sweet as table sugar, but has zero calories.

Sean O' Donnell, lead author of the study and biology and biodiversity professor at Drexel's College of Arts and Sciences, explained that the study began when the son of his co-author, Simon D. Kaschock-Marenda, asked if they could stage an experiment showing the effects of sugar to a fly. Soon they found out that the fruit flies exposed to Truvia, a brand which has erythritol, died. The researchers then continued the study with more rigorous lab experiments.

Researchers tested the flies' reactions when exposed to non-nutritive sweeteners and sucrose. They found out that the flies fed with food that has Truvia lived for an average of 5.8 days, while those who were fed with food without the sweetener lived longer - between 38.6 and 50.6 days on average.

"Indeed what we found is that the main component of Truvia, the sugar erythritol, appears to have pretty potent insecticidal activity in our flies," Marenda said in a press release.

The researchers found out that the toxic effect on the flies was not caused by the stevia plant extract because the flies were also fed with PureVia, which also contains the sweet leaf extract, and did not show adverse reactions. The researchers concluded that the erythritol could have poisoned the fruit flies.

Results of the study also showed that the flies seemed attracted to erythritol even if other food sources were available. The researchers believed that the erythritol could be used as a potent insecticide that is safe to humans. A human-safe insecticide could lessen the chances of toxic poisoning affecting and even killing humans.

Results of the study were published in the June 5 issue of PLos One.