Establishing the safety of non-caloric sweetener consumption in humans is a difficult task, since many contradictory results have been reported. The objective of this study was to compare the effect of frequent intake of sucrose, sucralose or steviol glycosides, on selected anthropometric, biochemical and immunological parameters in healthy, young adults. 38 individuals with normal body mass index were recruited and randomly divided into three experimental groups. After a washout week (where food with added sweeteners was restricted), each group was supplemented with sucrose (8 × 5 g packets/day), sucralose or steviol glycosides (4 × 1 g packets/day each) for 6 weeks. Selected variables were measured before and after treatment in each group and differences within and among groups were assessed. Our results showed that, compared to baseline, there was a modest but significant increase in weight (p = 0.0293) in the sucralose group, while the steviol glycosides group reduced their fat mass (p = 0.0390). No differences were observed in glycaemia; however, there was a significant increase in serum triglycerides (77.8-110.8 mg/dL) and cholesterol (162.0-172.3 mg/dL) in the sucrose group, whereas the steviol glycosides group presented lower triglycerides (104.7-92.8 mg/dL) and TNF-α concentrations (51.1-47.5 pg/mL). Comparison among groups showed differences in serum triglycerides (p = 0.0226), TNF-α (p = 0.0460) and IL-β (p = 0.0008). Our results suggest that, even in a short time span, frequent intake of steviol glycosides may have positive effects on metabolic parameters that may be relevant for human health.
Keywords: Non-caloric sweeteners; biochemical parameters; body mass index; cytokines; weight.