The University of Adelaide and Royal Adelaide Hospital, Australia, report found the sweetener had no affect on gut hormones linked to hunger.

Previous research on rats indicated that sucralose could modify glucose absorption in the intestines.

But the Australian researchers claim this is not the case with humans.

The report stated: "Species differences are likely to account for the lack of effect of sucralose in human subjects."

"It has been reported that there is much lower duodenal expression of [the glucose transporter] GLUT2 in human subjects than in rats and mice, while expression of [sodium-dependent glucose transporter] SGLT1 is much greater in human subjects."

Tests conducted on volunteers, where half were given a sweetener and the other half nothing, found there was no difference in blood glucose levels between the test subjects and the control group.

"Sucralose does not appear to modify the rate of glucose absorption or the glycaemic or incretin response to intraduodenal glucose infusion when given acutely in healthy human subjects," the report added.

According to Tate & Lyle, sucralose is used in more than 4,000 products across the world.