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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2020 Nov 6;12(11):3408.
doi: 10.3390/nu12113408.

The Effects of Non-Nutritive Artificial Sweeteners, Aspartame and Sucralose, on the Gut Microbiome in Healthy Adults: Secondary Outcomes of a Randomized Double-Blinded Crossover Clinical Trial

Samar Y Ahmad  1 , James Friel  1 , Dylan Mackay  1   2
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

The Effects of Non-Nutritive Artificial Sweeteners, Aspartame and Sucralose, on the Gut Microbiome in Healthy Adults: Secondary Outcomes of a Randomized Double-Blinded Crossover Clinical Trial

Samar Y Ahmad et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Non-nutritive artificial sweeteners (NNSs) may have the ability to change the gut microbiota, which could potentially alter glucose metabolism. This study aimed to determine the effect of sucralose and aspartame consumption on gut microbiota composition using realistic doses of NNSs. Seventeen healthy participants between the ages of 18 and 45 years who had a body mass index (BMI) of 20-25 were selected. They undertook two 14-day treatment periods separated by a four-week washout period. The sweeteners consumed by each participant consisted of a standardized dose of 14% (0.425 g) of the acceptable daily intake (ADI) for aspartame and 20% (0.136 g) of the ADI for sucralose. Faecal samples collected before and after treatments were analysed for microbiome and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). There were no differences in the median relative proportions of the most abundant bacterial taxa (family and genus) before and after treatments with both NNSs. The microbiota community structure also did not show any obvious differences. There were no differences in faecal SCFAs following the consumption of the NNSs. These findings suggest that daily repeated consumption of pure aspartame or sucralose in doses reflective of typical high consumption have minimal effect on gut microbiota composition or SCFA production.

Keywords: aspartame; gut microbiome; non-nutritive sweetener; protocol; randomized clinical trial; sucralose.

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Conflict of interest statement

D.M. was an invited speaker at a seminar entitled ‘Conflicting Outcomes from Systematic Reviews: Is the Consumption of Low-Calorie Sweeteners a Benefit or a Risk for Weight Management?’ at Nutrition 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, which was sponsored by PepsiCo. PepsiCo paid for his accommodation, conference fee and honorarium. PepsiCo is a company that sells products that contain non-nutritive sweeteners. The other authors declare no conflicts of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Analytical flow chart.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Change in the mean Shannon diversity index after sucralose or aspartame treatment (n = 17). Between-group comparison by the linear mixed effect model. Values are expressed as the means ± standard error of mean (SEM).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mean relative abundance of the four dominant microbiota phyla of the human gut by treatment group before and after the administration of aspartame or sucralose drinks.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Principal coordinates analysis of the microbiota community structure (unweighted UniFrac distance) before and after treatment with sucralose or aspartame; statistical comparison by permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) with 500 permutations. (n = 17).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Short-chain fatty acid concentration from the human faeces metabolomics analysis before and after sucralose or aspartame treatments. Data are presented as the means ± standard error (SE), n = 14–16.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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