title: A human volunteer study to assess the impact of confectionery sweeteners on the gut microbiota composition.
abstract: Sweeteners are being sourced to lower the energetic value of confectionery including chocolates. Some, especially non-digestible carbohydrates, may possess other benefits for human health upon their fermentation by the colonic microbiota. The present study assessed non-digestible carbohydrate sweeteners, selected for use in low-energy chocolates, for their ability to beneficially modulate faecal bacterial profiles in human volunteers. Forty volunteers consumed a test chocolate (low-energy or experimental chocolate) containing 22.8 g of maltitol (MTL), MTL and polydextrose (PDX), or MTL and resistant starch for fourteen consecutive days. The dose of the test chocolates was doubled every 2 weeks over a 6-week period. Numbers of faecal bifidobacteria significantly increased with all the three test treatments. Chocolate containing the PDX blend also significantly increased faecal lactobacilli (P = 0.00 001) after the 6 weeks. The PDX blend also showed significant increases in faecal propionate and butyrate (P = 0.002 and 0.006, respectively). All the test chocolates were well tolerated with no significant change in bowel habit or intestinal symptoms even at a daily dose of 45.6 g of non-digestible carbohydrate sweetener. This is of importance not only for giving manufacturers a sugar replacement that can reduce energetic content, but also for providing a well-tolerated means of delivering high levels of non-digestible carbohydrates into the colon, bringing about improvements in the biomarkers of gut health.
authors.affiliation: Food Microbial Sciences Unit, Department of Food Biosciences, The University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AP, UK.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Beards
authors.forename: Kieran
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tuohy
authors.forename: Glenn
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gibson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001644:Bifidobacterium / Q000254:growth & development*; D002087:Butyrates / Q000378:metabolism*; D002099:Cacao; D002182:Candy; D003106:Colon / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology*; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D055951:Functional Food; D005936:Glucans / Q000494:pharmacology; D006805:Human Experimentation; D006801:Humans; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000254:growth & development*; D008297:Male; D008320:Maltose / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D011422:Propionates / Q000378:metabolism*; D013213:Starch / Q000494:pharmacology; D013402:Sugar Alcohols / Q000494:pharmacology; D013549:Sweetening Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D002087:Butyrates; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D005936:Glucans; D011422:Propionates; D013402:Sugar Alcohols; D013549:Sweetening Agents; D008320:Maltose; D013213:Starch; C010745:maltitol; C033375:polydextrose