Saccharin is one of the most popular artificial sweeteners. What it's made of and how safe it is?

Saccharin is the oldest artificial sweetener; it was discovered in 1879 by Ira Remsen and Constantin Fahlberg of Johns Hopkins University.

Usage note: The word saccharin has no final "e". The word saccharine, with a final "e", is much older and is an adjective meaning "sugary". Both words are derived from the Greek word 蟽维魏蠂伪蟻慰谓 (sakcharon, German ch sound), which ultimately derives from Sanskrit for sugar, sharkara (啶多ぐ啷嵿啶班ぞ), which literally means gravel [1]. The word's connection with sugar means the term is used metaphorically, often in a derogative sense, to describe something "unpleasantly over-polite" or "overly sweet".

Saccharin is about 300 times as sweet as sucrose, but has an unpleasant bitter or metallic aftertaste, especially at high concentrations. This unpleasant taste is criticized in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, We The Living by Ayn Rand, and the song "Bad Cover Version" by Pulp. Unlike the newer artificial sweetener aspartame, saccharin is stable when heated, even in the presence of acids, does not react chemically with other food ingredients, and stores well. Blends of saccharin with other sweeteners are often used to compensate for each sweetener's weaknesses. A 10:1 cyclamate:saccharin blend is common in countries where both these sweeteners are legal; in this blend, each sweetener masks the other's off-taste. Saccharin is often used together with aspartame in diet fountain beverages, so that some sweetness remains should the fountain syrup be stored beyond aspartame's relatively short shelf life.

In its acidic form, saccharin is not particularly water-soluble. The form used as an artificial sweetener is usually its sodium salt. The calcium salt is also sometimes used, especially by people restricting their dietary sodium intake. Both salts are highly water-soluble: 0.67 grams per milliliter water at room temperature.

I am not sure what it is made off, but it does have a laxative affect - trust me after eating diabetic chocolate by mistake i SO found out!!
It does actually give that warning on all low in sugar foods and sweets including EXTRA chewing gum and diet coke.

Saccharin is banned in Germany. It causes high risk of bladder cancer in rats and studies suggest it raises the ante in humans too. I would use Splenda or stevia for a sweetener if I had a choice.