A bitter aftertaste: unintended effects of artificial sweeteners on the gut microbiome

Nicholas A Bokulich; Martin J Blaser

doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2014.10.012

A bitter aftertaste: unintended effects of artificial sweeteners on the gut microbiome

Cell Metab. 2014 Nov 4;20(5):701-703. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2014.10.012. Epub 2014 Nov 4.

Authors

Nicholas A Bokulich¹, Martin J Blaser²

Affiliations

¹ Departments of Medicine and Microbiology and Human Microbiome Program, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA.
² Departments of Medicine and Microbiology and Human Microbiome Program, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA; New York Harbor Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, New York NY 10010, USA. Electronic address: martin.blaser@nyumc.org.

Abstract

Intestinal microbial communities regulate a range of host physiological functions, from energy harvest and glucose homeostasis to immune development and regulation. Suez et al. (2014) recently demonstrated that artificial sweeteners alter gut microbial communities, leading to glucose intolerance in both mice and humans.

Publication types

Comment

MeSH terms

Animals
Female
Gastrointestinal Tract / drug effects*
Gastrointestinal Tract / microbiology*
Glucose Intolerance / chemically induced*
Glucose Intolerance / microbiology*
Humans
Male
Microbiota / drug effects*
Sweetening Agents / adverse effects*

Substances

Sweetening Agents

Grants and funding

R01 DK090989/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/United States