Common dietary emulsifiers promote metabolic disorders and intestinal microbiota dysbiosis in mice

• Published in: Communications biology Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 749 - 14
• Main Authors: Panyod, Suraphan, Wu, Wei-Kai, Chang, Chih-Ting, Wada, Naohisa, Ho, Han-Chen, Lo, Yi-Ling, Tsai, Sing-Ping, Chen, Rou-An, Huang, Huai-Syuan, Liu, Po-Yu, Chen, Yi-Hsun, Chuang, Hsiao-Li, Shen, Ting-Chin David, Tang, Sen-Lin, Ho, Chi-Tang, Wu, Ming-Shiang, Sheen, Lee-Yan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 20.06.2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/326/2565/2134; 64/60; 692/4020/2741/2135; 692/499; 692/699/317; Animals; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Carboxymethylcellulose; Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium; Digestive system; Diglycerides; Dysbacteriosis; Dysbiosis - chemically induced; Dysbiosis - microbiology; Emulsifiers; Emulsifying Agents; Esters; Fatty acids; Gastrointestinal Microbiome - drug effects; Gastrointestinal tract; Glucose metabolism; Homeostasis; Hyperglycemia; Hyperinsulinemia; Insulin Resistance; Intestinal microflora; Lecithin; Lecithins; Life Sciences; Lipid metabolism; Lipopolysaccharides; Male; Metabolic Diseases - chemically induced; Metabolic Diseases - etiology; Metabolic Diseases - metabolism; Metabolic Diseases - microbiology; Metabolic disorders; Metabolic syndrome; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Microbiota; Monoglycerides; Mucus; Population studies; Sucrose; Sucrose - administration & dosage; Sucrose - adverse effects; Sucrose - metabolism; Sucrose fatty acid esters
• ISSN: 2399-3642; 2399-3642
• DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06224-3

Dietary emulsifiers are linked to various diseases. The recent discovery of the role of gut microbiota–host interactions on health and disease warrants the safety reassessment of dietary emulsifiers through the lens of gut microbiota. Lecithin, sucrose fatty acid esters, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), and mono- and diglycerides (MDG) emulsifiers are common dietary emulsifiers with high exposure levels in the population. This study demonstrates that sucrose fatty acid esters and carboxymethylcellulose induce hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia in a mouse model. Lecithin, sucrose fatty acid esters, and CMC disrupt glucose homeostasis in the in vitro insulin-resistance model. MDG impairs circulating lipid and glucose metabolism. All emulsifiers change the intestinal microbiota diversity and induce gut microbiota dysbiosis. Lecithin, sucrose fatty acid esters, and CMC do not impact mucus–bacterial interactions, whereas MDG tends to cause bacterial encroachment into the inner mucus layer and enhance inflammation potential by raising circulating lipopolysaccharide. Our findings demonstrate the safety concerns associated with using dietary emulsifiers, suggesting that they could lead to metabolic syndromes. Common dietary emulsifiers such as lecithin, sucrose fatty acid esters, carboxymethylcellulose, and mono- and diglycerides can promote metabolic disorders and intestinal microbiota dysbiosis in mice.