Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29975731›Full record

ArticlePloS one2018

Non-nutritive sweeteners possess a bacteriostatic effect and alter gut microbiota in mice.

Qiao-Ping Wang, Duncan Browman, Herbert Herzog, G Gregory Neely

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 78 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
78citing papers in PubMed
11.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

78 citing papers in PubMed, 141 citations in OpenAlex.

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  14. Diet, gut microbiota, and health: a review.Food science and biotechnology · 2025
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18 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Qiao-Ping WangUniversity of Sydney, Dr. John and Anne Chong Lab for Functional Genomics, Charles Perkins Centre, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
Duncan BrowmanNeuroscience Division, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Darlinghurst, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Herbert HerzogNeuroscience Division, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Darlinghurst, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
G Gregory NeelyUniversity of Sydney, Dr. John and Anne Chong Lab for Functional Genomics, Charles Perkins Centre, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-2809-6457
Garvan Institute of Medical Research · AUThe University of Sydney · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Non-nutritive sweeteners (NNSs) are widely used in various food products and soft drinks. There is growing evidence that NNSs contribute to metabolic dysfunction and can affect body weight, glucose tolerance, appetite, and taste sensitivity. Several NNSs have also been shown to have major impacts on bacterial growth both in vitro and in vivo. Here we studied the effects of various NNSs on the growth of the intestinal bacterium, E. coli, as well as the gut bacterial phyla Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes, the balance between which is associated with gut health. We found that the synthetic sweeteners acesulfame potassium, saccharin and sucralose all exerted strong bacteriostatic effects. We found that rebaudioside A, the active ingredient in the natural NNS stevia, also had similar bacteriostatic properties, and the bacteriostatic effects of NNSs varied among different Escherichia coli strains. In mice fed a chow diet, sucralose increased Firmicutes, and we observed a synergistic effect on Firmicutes when sucralose was provided in the context of a high-fat diet. In summary, our data show that NNSs have direct bacteriostatic effects and can change the intestinal microbiota in vivo.

Indexed as

AnimalsAppetiteBacillotaBacteroidetesBody WeightCarbonated BeveragesEscherichia coliGastrointestinal MicrobiomeHumansMiceNon-Nutritive SweetenersSaccharinSteviaSucroseTasteThiazinesacetosulfameNon-Nutritive SweetenersSaccharinSucroseThiazinestrichlorosucrose

Identifiers

PMID29975731
PMCPMC6033410
OpenAlexW2818295771

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.