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Nonnutritive Sweeteners and Their Role in the Gastrointestinal Tract

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Sweeteners

Part of the book series: Reference Series in Phytochemistry ((RSP))

Abstract

Non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) were once thought to be metabolically inert, but have recently been shown to exert physiologic activity in the gastrointestinal tract. Mechanisms underlying their activity include binding to sweet taste receptors in enteroendocrine L-cells and pancreatic beta cells, through influencing glucose transport, and through altering the gut microbiota. The majority of in vitro studies demonstrate that NNS elicit gut hormone secretion and stimulate insulin release; and, findings from rodent models largely support these data. However, whether NNS affect gut hormones, insulin responses, glucose absorption, or microbiota in humans is not clear. Further research investigating the extent to which NNS exert clinically relevant activity in the gastrointestinal tract is required to determine whether these commonly consumed replacements for added sugars are beneficial or detrimental to human health.

Disclosures

The authors have no conflicts of interest.

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Abbreviations

FDA:

United states food and drug administration

GRAS:

Generally recognized as safe

NNS:

Non-nutritive sweetener

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by the intramural research program of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and in part by the Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences at the George Washington University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section on Pediatric Diabetes and Metabolism, National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases, 9000 Rockville Pike, Building 10, Room 8C432A, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA

    Allison C. Sylvetsky & Kristina I. Rother

  2. Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, The George Washington University, 950 New Hampshire Avenue NW, 2nd floor, Washington, DC, 20052, USA

    Allison C. Sylvetsky, Jenna Abdelhadi & Najy Issa

Authors
  1. Allison C. Sylvetsky
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  2. Jenna Abdelhadi
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  3. Najy Issa
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  4. Kristina I. Rother
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Allison C. Sylvetsky .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France

    Jean-Michel Mérillon

  2. Botany Department, M.L. Sukhadia University, Udaipur, India

    Kishan Gopal Ramawat

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Sylvetsky, A.C., Abdelhadi, J., Issa, N., Rother, K.I. (2018). Nonnutritive Sweeteners and Their Role in the Gastrointestinal Tract. In: Mérillon, JM., Ramawat, K. (eds) Sweeteners. Reference Series in Phytochemistry. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27027-2_4

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