Which one among the following is the sweetest natural sugar ?

Among the naturally occurring sugars, fructose is identified as the sweetest. Sweetness is typically measured on a relative scale where sucrose (table sugar) is assigned a reference value of 1 or 100 [1]. According to sensory analysis, fructose has a relative sweetness rating of approximately 1.1 to 1.7 times that of sucrose, depending on the concentration and temperature [2]. In contrast, glucose (dextrose) is less sweet, with a rating of about 0.7 to 0.8 relative to sucrose [1]. Lactose, the sugar found in milk, is significantly less sweet, often rated between 0.16 and 0.40 [2]. The high sweetness of fructose is attributed to its specific molecular structure, which allows it to interact more effectively with the sweetness receptors on the human tongue compared to other monosaccharides and disaccharides.

Sources

1. [1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308814618321538
2. [2] https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/sweetness