Artificial Sweeteners Can Make Gut Bacteria Pathogenic

Artificial sweeteners can cause previously healthy gut bacteria to become diseased and invade the gut wall, according to a study published recently in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Previous studies have shown that artificial sweeteners can change the number and type of bacteria in the gut, but this study, led by researchers from Anglia Ruskin University, has demonstrated that sweeteners can also make the bacteria pathogenic.

In the new study, the team discovered that at a concentration equivalent to two cans of diet soft drink, three artificial sweeteners (saccharin, sucralose, and aspartame) significantly increased the adhesion of both Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis to intestinal Caco-2 cells, and differentially increased the formation of biofilms.

Additionally, all three sweeteners caused the pathogenic gut bacteria to invade Caco-2 cells found in the wall of the intestine, with the exception of saccharin which had no significant effect on E. coli invasion.

"There is a lot of concern about the consumption of artificial sweeteners, with some studies showing that sweeteners can affect the layer of bacteria which support the gut, known as the gut microbiota,” explains senior author Havovi Chichger. "Our study is the first to show that some of the sweeteners most commonly found in food and drink—saccharin, sucralose and aspartame—can make normal and 'healthy' gut bacteria become pathogenic. These pathogenic changes include greater formation of biofilms and increased adhesion and invasion of bacteria into human gut cells."

"These changes could lead to our own gut bacteria invading and causing damage to our intestine, which can be linked to infection, sepsis and multiple-organ failure."