The sweetness of allulose is estimated to be 70% of the sweetness of sucrose. It has some cooling sensation and no bitterness. Its taste is said to be sugar-like, in contrast to certain other sweeteners, like the high-intensity artificial sweeteners aspartame and saccharine. The caloric value of allulose in humans is about 0.2 to 0.4 kcal/g, relative to about 4 kcal/g for typical carbohydrates. In rats, the relative energy value of allulose was found to be 0.007 kcal/g, or approximately 0.3% of that of sucrose. Similar to the sugar alcohol erythritol, allulose is minimally metabolized and is excreted largely unchanged. The glycemic index of allulose is very low or negligible.