Consumption of artificial sweeteners during pregnancy may affect colostrum microbiota, study suggests

Non-nutritive sweeteners provide the required sweetness to foods and beverages without significant addition of calories. Still, their consumption has been linked to modification in the gut microbiota of adults and children and disruption of blood glucose control. Human milk microbiota is most important in establishing gut microbiota in infants, but not much is known about whether sweetener consumption can alter it.

To address this question, Alejandro Tapia-González and colleagues from Mexico sequenced DNA-extracted colostrum samples from a group of mothers, who had different levels of NNS consumption, using the Ion Torrent Platform.

For this purpose, they conducted a cross-sectional study from January 2018 to December 2019 at the Gynecological Unit of the Hospital General de México “Dr. Eduardo Liceaga” (HGMEL) in Mexico City.

The sample comprised 168 in-labor healthy women aged 18 to 40 years who were invited to participate at their arrival to HGMEL with a gestational age of >35 weeks which was estimated by last menstrual period (LMP) or measured by ultrasound (USG).

"To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that evaluated the microbiota profile of colostrum using high-throughput sequencing concerning the frequency of NNS consumption," the researchers wrote, "opening the possibility of the existence of an early link between the development of future obesity in children and changes in the microbiota of human milk."

The study led to the following findings:

• The "core" of colostrum microbiota, composed of the genera Bifidobacterium, Cutibacteium, Blautia, Staphylococcus, and Streptococcus, remains practically unchanged with the consumption of NNS during pregnancy, but specific genera display significant alterations, such as Streptococcus and Staphylococcus.
• A significant increase in the unclassified archaea Methanobrevibacter spp. was observed as the consumption frequency of NNS increased. The increase in the abundance of this archaea has been previously linked to obesity in Mexican children.

"NNS consumption during pregnancy could be related to changes in colostrum microbiota, particularly in the Methanobrevibacter genus," the research team concluded. "No changes were seen in colostrum’s “core” microbiota, composed of the genera Staphylococcus, Cutibacteium, Blautia, Bifidobacterium, and Streptococcus.

"There is a need for more studies in other populations and a bigger sample size to corroborate findings," they wrote. "Likewise, there is a need to further study the possible effects of these changes in the colostrum microbiota on the future health of infants."

Reference:

Tapia-González, Alejandro, et al. "Maternal Consumption of Non-Nutritive Sweeteners During Pregnancy Is Associated With Alterations in the Colostrum Microbiota." Nutrients, vol. 15, no. 23, 2023.