The role of titanium dioxide in the gut

Abstract

Purpose Titanium is a naturally occurring mineral in the form of titanium dioxide (TiO2) and is one of the most widely used food additives. The purpose of this review article is to show the importance of the accumulation of this mineral in the gut and its relation with inflammatory processes. Methodology This is a literature review study from 2002 to 2016, focusing on studies with TiO2 and its relation with inflammatory bowel diseases. Findings Articles describe that TiO2 is resistant to gastrointestinal degradation, as it has high stability, and that its particles, ingested daily, may bind to biomolecules in the lumen or be absorbed by the intestinal mucosa, accumulating in the macrophages of lymphoid tissue in the gut, thus causing or aggravating the inflammatory response in the inflamed bowel. Limitations/implications There is a limited number of studies on the long-term impact of dietary microparticles in animal models, in healthy subjects and in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases. Practical implications It is necessary to regulate the amount of TiO2 used in industrialized products. Social implications The high consumption of processed foods, as opposed to a healthy diet based on the balanced consumption of nutrients, is relevant, as it may lead to or exacerbate intestinal inflammation. Originality/value This review indicates that titanium particles may mediate toxicological processes leading to an abnormal increase in intestinal permeability, which may be particularly aggravating in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases.

Impacto do consumo de alimentos ultraprocessados na microbiota intestinal na infância

“…Entre as características dos AUP que os tornam potencialmente prejudiciais para a microbiota intestinal estão os aditivos alimentares, sendo alguns deles os adoçantes artificiais (SUEZ et al, 2014;SUEZ et al, 2015;FRANKENFELD et al 2015;SUEZ et al, 2022), emulsificantes (ROBERTS et al, 2010;CHASSAING et al, 2015;GERASIMIDIS et al, 2020;NAIMI et al, 2021;ROUSTA et al, 2021), conservantes (HRNCIROVA et al, 2019;TIROSH et al, 2019;GERASIMIDIS et al, 2020) e corantes (BRUN et al, 2014;ACHTSCHIN & SIPAHI, 2017;MAO et al, 2019;PINGET et al, 2019). Ainda, a microbiota intestinal pode ser afetada pelo consumo excessivo de sal (BIER et al, 2018;FERGUSON et al, 2019), açúcar (DI RIENZI & BRITTON, 2020;YAN et al, 2023) e gordura -geralmente saturada e/ou hidrogenada (DANIEL et al, 2014;WAN et al, 2019;MALESZA et al, 2021).…”