Comprehensive Assessment of Functional Effects of Commonly Used Sugar Substitute Sweeteners on <i>Ex Vivo</i> Human Gut Microbiome
Zhong-Zhi Sun, Wenju Wang, Leyuan Li, Xu Zhang, Zhibin Ning, Janice Mayne, Krystal Walker, Alain Stintzi, Daniel Figeys
Abstract
The human gut microbiome is closely related to human health. Sugar substitute sweeteners as commonly used food additives are increasingly consumed and have potential impacts on microbiome functionality. Although many studies have evaluated the effects of a few sweeteners on gut microbiomes using animal models, the direct effect of sugar substitute sweeteners on the human gut microbiome remains largely unknown. Our results revealed that the sweetener-induced metaproteomic responses of individual microbiomes had two major patterns, which were associated with the chemical properties of the sweeteners. This study provided a comprehensive evaluation of the effects of commonly used sugar substitute sweeteners on the human gut microbiome.