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Sucralose causes a concentration dependent metabolic inhibition of the gut flora Bacteroides , B. fragilis and B. uniformis not observed in the Firmicutes, E. faecalis and C. sordellii (1118.1)
Author(s) -
Rettig Scott,
Tenewitz Jake,
Ahearn Greg,
Coughlin Charles
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.28.1_supplement.1118.1
Subject(s) - sucralose , firmicutes , bacteroides , gut flora , virginiamycin , bacteroides fragilis , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , food science , sucrose , chemistry , bacteria , biochemistry , antibiotics , 16s ribosomal rna , genetics
The gut microbiota is composed mainly of members from the phyla Bacteroides and Firmicutes . Others have shown a correlation of obesity with a reduction in the Bacteroides’ ability to grow normally and maintain their role in the gut. Sucralose is a ‘non‐metabolizable’ chlorinated sucrose derivative and the synthesized ingredient in the artificial sweetener Splenda®. Turbidity data obtained from active cultures showed a differential effect of sucralose on the growth curves between members of these Phyla. Sucralose had little effect on two Firmicutes, E. faecalis and C. sordellii , while there was a concentration dependent inhibition of growth of Bacteroides, B. fragilis and B. uniformis . Preliminary results of sucrase enzyme assays may demonstrate considerable competitive inhibition in the presence of sucralose. Furthermore, preliminary transport tests may have displayed differential results between the two phyla suggesting two putative means of metabolic inhibition that explain the reported growth curves. It must be considered that sucralose has the ability to alter gut flora composition by these differential metabolic findings and the negative health impacts from this imbalance must be addressed.