Aspartame (below) is an artificial sweetener used in diet soft drinks and is marketed under many trade names, including Equal and Nutrasweet. In the body, aspartame is hydrolyzed to produce methanol, aspartic acid, and phenylalanine. The production of phenylalanine poses a health risk to infants born with a rare condition called phenylketonuria, which prevents phenylalanine from being digested properly. Draw the structures of aspartic acid and phenylalanine.
