Artificial Sweeteners and Metabolic Syndrome: Paradox of Physiological Behavior or Neuroendocrine Mechanisms
Maheswara Reddy Mallu *
Department of Biotechnology, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Kusuma Naredla
Department of Biotechnology, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Maha Lakshmi Meesala
Department of Biotechnology, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Kamala Vasanthi Karyamsetty
Department of Biotechnology, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Shaheena Dudekula
Department of Biotechnology, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Haritha Boppa
Department of Biotechnology, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Trishanthi Thota
Department of Biotechnology, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Niranjan Babu Akula
Department of Biotechnology, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Artificial sweeteners owing to their non-caloric nature were proposed as a healthful means with the prospective benefits. Epidemiological data indicate direct relationship between artificial sweetener intake and increase in body weight, glycemic status, and adiposity. Despite strong association, evidence is still lacking in establishing the causal relationship between artificial sweeteners and various risk factors for the development of metabolic syndrome. In vitro studies have disclosed that artificial sweeteners similar to glucose/fructose bind to sweet-taste receptors on the tongue and intestinal mucosa stimulating enhanced sugar absorption, through glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) secretion. Human studies failed to recapitulate these effects, advocating that artificial sweeteners rather serve to promote food consumption rather than improving satiety. Therefore, enhanced food consumption, disallowance of caloric adjustments could in some measure explain body weight gain with the use of artificial sweeteners. However, the physiological behavior and neuroendocrine mechanisms by which the non-caloric sweeteners may stimulate appetite needs further scrutiny.
Keywords: Artificial sweeteners, metabolic syndrome, appetite, body weight, neuroendocrine, paradox, glycemic