Non-nutritive sweeteners possess a bacteriostatic effect and alter gut microbiota in mice

Abstract

Non-nutritive sweeteners (NNSs) are widely used in various food products and soft drinks. There is growing evidence that NNSs contribute to metabolic dysfunction and can affect body weight, glucose tolerance, appetite, and taste sensitivity. Several NNSs have also been shown to have major impacts on bacterial growth both in vitro and in vivo. Here we studied the effects of various NNSs on the growth of the intestinal bacterium, E. coli, as well as the gut bacterial phyla Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes, the balance between which is associated with gut health. We found that the synthetic sweeteners acesulfame potassium, saccharin and sucralose all exerted strong bacteriostatic effects. We found that rebaudioside A, the active ingredient in the natural NNS stevia, also had similar bacteriostatic properties, and the bacteriostatic effects of NNSs varied among different Escherichia coli strains. In mice fed a chow diet, sucralose increased Firmicutes, and we observed a synergistic effect on Firmicutes when sucralose was provided in the context of a high-fat diet. In summary, our data show that NNSs have direct bacteriostatic effects and can change the intestinal microbiota in vivo.

Non-Caloric Artificial Sweeteners Modulate the Expression of Key Metabolic Genes in the Omnipresent Gut Microbe <b><i>Escherichia coli</i></b>

“…In a recent study, Wang et al [2018] reported a strong inhibitory effect of ace-K, saccharin, and sucralose at high concentrations (12.5 and 25 mg/mL) on E. coli. Here, we also studied the effects of ace-K and aspartame on E. coli growth per se.…”

“…Some studies in recent years have reported that artificial sweeteners, including aspartame, change the composition of gut microbiota and induce glucose intolerance [Bokulich and Blaser, 2014;Palmnäs et al, 2014;Suez et al, 2014Suez et al, , 2015. Acesulfame potassium (ace-K) is another widely used NAS [Wang et al, 2018]. ace-K has been shown to induce weight gain as well as alter the gut microbiota profile in mice [Bian et al, 2017].…”

Short-term impact of sucralose consumption on the metabolic response and gut microbiome of healthy adults

“…Such deleterious effect was prevented when mice were treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics against Gram-negative or Gram-positive bacteria. The fact that sucralose displays bacteriostatic action on several gut microbes (5,6) , and that most of the sucralose is not absorbed in the intestine (1,7,8) , gives support to observations showing that sucralose can alter gut microbiome composition (6,9) . Taken together, the notion that sucralose influences glucose control through alterations in intestinal microbiota has emerged.…”

“…Recently the gut microbiome has emerged as a factor that could contribute to the biological effects of NAS, in particular sucralose (31) . Early environmental studies revealed a strong bacteriostatic effect of several NAS, including sucralose and saccharine (5,6,31,32) . Wang et al (6) also showed increases in Firmicutes in mice exposed to sucralose.…”

“…Early environmental studies revealed a strong bacteriostatic effect of several NAS, including sucralose and saccharine (5,6,31,32) . Wang et al (6) also showed increases in Firmicutes in mice exposed to sucralose. Thus, alterations in gut microbiome have been shown to be associated with NAS exposure, and these alterations could be causative of metabolic impairments such as glucose intolerance and insulin resistance (4) .…”