Varuni Ankolekar, Quartesian
Studies demonstrate that Artificial Sweeteners (AS) which are synthetic sugars that are commonly consumed can turn healthy gut bacteria into damaging microbes and could cause significant health issues such as blood poisoning etc.
What are artificial sweeteners?
Artificial sweeteners are chemicals or synthetic sugars that are used to sweeten foods and beverages. They are found to have negligible or zero calories, as our body cannot break them down.
Usually used as an artificial sugar supplement that is believed to aid for weight loss as it may reduce hunger and calorie intake. Also, consumed by those with diabetes as they provide a sweet taste without upsurging blood sugar levels. These are unlikely to increase the risk of metabolic syndrome, cancer, tooth decay. However, there is still debate on the potential benefits versus detrimental effects of these synthetic sugars on gut health.
How are sugar substitutes manufactured?
Sugar substitutes may be derived through the manufacturing of plant extracts or processed by chemical synthesis. Types include Allulose, Acesulfame potassium, Aspartame, Cyclamate, Mogrosides, Saccharin, Stevia, Sucralose, Sugar alcohols.
Saccharin is derived from phthalic anhydride.
Sucralose is obtained from sucrose when three chlorine atoms replace three hydroxyl groups.
Aspartame is a white crystalline powder that is drawn from the two amino acids aspartic acid and phenylalanine.
Artificial sweeteners and gut health:
Aparna and Havovi have discovered that saccharin, sucralose, and aspartame that are generally used in soft drinks and processed foods – could trigger beneficial bacteria in the intestines such as E. coli (Escherichia coli) and E. faecalis (Enterococcus faecalis) into pathogenic, or disease-causing microbes potentially causing gut microbiota perturbations.
The study was performed to examine how AS impact gut bacterial pathogenicity and gut epithelium-microbiota interactions. The microbiota models such as E. coli (Escherichia coli) and E. faecalis (Enterococcus faecalis) were exposed to distinct concentrations of AS like saccharin, sucralose, and aspartame, and their pathogenicity and variations in interactions with intestinal epithelium (Caco-2 cells) were evaluated in vitro studies. These studies show that sweeteners differentially boost the ability of bacteria to form a biofilm: microorganisms organize themselves to form a layer. Increased ability of model gut bacteria to adhere to, infect and destroy the host epithelium was observed when they were cocultured with human intestinal epithelial cells. The pan-sweet taste inhibitor, zinc sulfate, essentially blocked these negative impacts.
These observations demonstrate that all the three sweeteners saccharin, sucralose, and aspartame promote pathogenic changes in E. coli and E. faecalis, which could deteriorate the influence of consuming AS in the diet on gut health as they transform from planktonic to biofilm because of environmental and physiological cues, including cell density, nutrient availability, and cellular stress.
Microbes growing in biofilms have been observed to have fewer virulence factors and exotoxins compared to planktonic bacteria with decreased sensitivity to antimicrobial resistance treatment. This could be the reason for increased adhesion to and invasion of Caco-2 cells and elevated cytotoxic effects. It is also found that sweeteners have differential effects on pathogenicity in E. coli and E. faecalis. AS consumption in the diet continues to elevate, hence, identifying how these food additives affect gut microbiota and how these detrimental effects can be ameliorated is crucial.
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Reference:
- Shil, A., & Chichger, H. (2021). Artificial Sweeteners Negatively Regulate Pathogenic Characteristics of Two Model Gut Bacteria, E. coli and E. faecalis. International journal of molecular sciences, 22(10), 5228. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22105228
About author:
Varuni Ankolekar is currently a Clinical Data Management professional with a demonstrated history of working in the pharmaceuticals industry. She is skilled in Clinical Data Management and Healthcare. She is a strong research professional with a Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) focused in Biotechnology, from The Oxford College of Engineering . Some of her previous publications at BioXone are:
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