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

Abstract

Sucralose is an artificial non-nutritive sweetener used in foods aimed to reduce sugar and energy intake. While thought to be inert, the impact of sucralose on metabolic control has shown to be the opposite. The gut microbiome has emerged as a factor shaping metabolic responses after sweetener consumption. We examined the short-term effect of sucralose consumption on glucose homeostasis and gut microbiome of healthy male volunteers. We performed a randomised, double-blind study in thirty-four subjects divided into two groups, one that was administered sucralose capsules (780 mg/d for 7 d; n 17) and a control group receiving placebo (n 17). Before and after the intervention, glycaemic and insulinaemic responses were assessed with a standard oral glucose load (75 g). Insulin resistance was determined using homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance and Matsuda indexes. The gut microbiome was evaluated before and after the intervention by 16S rRNA sequencing. During the study, body weight remained constant in both groups. Glycaemic control and insulin resistance were not affected during the 7-d period. At the phylum level, gut microbiome was not modified in any group. We classified subjects according to their change in insulinaemia after the intervention, to compare the microbiome of responders and non-responders. Independent of consuming sucralose or placebo, individuals with a higher insulinaemic response after the intervention had lower Bacteroidetes and higher Firmicutes abundances. In conclusion, consumption of high doses of sucralose for 7 d does not alter glycaemic control, insulin resistance, or gut microbiome in healthy individuals. However, it highlights the need to address individual responses to sucralose.

Plausible Biological Interactions of Low- and Non-Calorie Sweeteners with the Intestinal Microbiota: An Update of Recent Studies

“…A recent publication evaluated the short-term effect of sucralose consumption on glycemic control and its interaction with the intestinal microbiota (comparison before/after the intervention by 16S rRNA sequencing) in healthy subjects. This study concluded that consumption of high doses of sucralose (75% of the ADI) for 7 days did not alter glycemic control, insulin resistance, or intestinal microbiome at the phylum level [36].…”

“…A study carried out in humans examined the short-term effect of sucralose consumption on glucose homeostasis and gut microbiome in healthy male volunteers. The authors concluded that no changes occurred in the gut microbiome due to sucralose intake [36]. In contrast, another study shows an increase in the abundance of pro-inflammatory bacteria like Turicibacter, which was associated with hepatic inflammation, after sucralose administration [37].…”

Effects of the Daily Consumption of Stevia on Glucose Homeostasis, Body Weight, and Energy Intake: A Randomised Open-Label 12-Week Trial in Healthy Adults

“…No effect on glucose, insulin, and GLP-1 responses was observed in the study by Higgins et al [ 43 ] following 12 weeks of aspartame consumption in two different doses (350 mg and 1050 mg/d) compared to a placebo. Furthermore, no change in glucose and insulin response was found in the study by Grotz et al [ 44 ], which investigated the effects of 12 weeks of sucralose consumption (1000 mg/day) against a placebo group in normoglycaemic males or following 7 days of sucralose administration (780 mg/d) in healthy subjects [ 45 ]. On the other hand, lower insulin sensitivity has been demonstrated in two studies following daily sucralose consumption [ 46 , 47 ], and a recent study by Dalenberg et al [ 34 ] also showed that consuming 7 sucralose-sweetened beverages not without carbohydrates over 10 days decreased insulin sensitivity in healthy human volunteers.…”

Cross-Regional View of Functional and Taxonomic Microbiota Composition in Obesity and Post-obesity Treatment Shows Country Specific Microbial Contribution

“…DNA raw data sequences from the stool of obese and lean subjects were obtained from studies carried out in Chile (Medina et al, 2017; Thomson et al, 2019), Italy (Tremaroli et al, 2015), Denmark (Palleja et al, 2016), United States (Ilhan et al, 2017), France and Saudi Arabia (Yasir et al, 2015), described in Table 1 and Supplementary Table S1. In addition, 12 DNA stool samples from Chilean obese patients before and after treatment obtained from a previous study (Medina et al, 2017) were sequenced using shotgun metagenomics.…”