Sugar-rich diets, but also the use of intense sweeteners, may alter intestinal barrier function. Here, we assessed the effect of sucrose and sucralose on post-prandial endotoxemia in a randomized placebo-controlled single-blinded crossover-designed study. Following a 2-day standardization of their diet, healthy men and women received a beverage containing either sucrose, sucralose (iso-sweet) or an isocaloric combination of sucralose + maltodextrin. Plasma endotoxin levels were measured after consumption of the respective beverages. Moreover, the effect of sucrose and sucralose on intestinal permeability was assessed in Caco-2 cells and ex vivo in an everted gut sac model. The nutritional standardization recommended by nutrition societies was associated with a significant decrease in plasma endotoxin levels. The intake of the sucrose-sweetened beverage resulted in a significant increase in plasma endotoxin levels while being unchanged after the intake of sucralose-sweetened beverages. In Caco-2 cells, the challenge with sucrose but not with sucralose significantly increased the permeation of the bacterial endotoxin across the cell monolayer. Xylose permeation in small intestinal everted tissue sacs was significantly higher upon the challenge with sucrose while remaining unchanged in sucralose-challenged sacs. Our data suggest that an acute intake of physiologically relevant amounts of sucrose but not of sucralose can result in post-prandial endotoxemia.
Keywords: intense sweetener; intestinal permeability; sucralose; sucrose.