Artificial Sweeteners in Breast Milk: A Clinical Investigation with a Kinetic Perspective

Sofie Stampe*, Magnus Leth-Møller, Eva Greibe, Elke Hoffmann-Lücke, Michael Pedersen, Per Ovesen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaperJournal articleResearchpeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Artificial sweeteners (ASs) are calorie-free chemical substances used instead of sugar to sweeten foods and drinks. Pregnant women with obesity or diabetes are often recommended to substitute sugary products with ASs to prevent an increase in body weight. However, some recent controversy surrounding ASs relates to concerns about the risk of obesity caused by a variety of metabolic changes, both in the mother and the offspring. This study addressed these concerns and investigated the biodistribution of ASs in plasma and breast milk of lactating women to clarify whether ASs can transfer from mother to offspring through breast milk. We recruited 49 lactating women who were provided with a beverage containing four different ASs (acesulfame-potassium, saccharin, cyclamate, and sucralose). Blood and breast milk samples were collected before and up to six hours after consumption. The women were categorized: BMI < 25 (n = 20), BMI > 27 (n = 21) and type 1 diabetes (n = 8). We found that all four ASs were present in maternal plasma and breast milk. The time-to-peak was 30–120 min in plasma and 240–300 min in breast milk. Area under the curve (AUC) ratios in breast milk were 88.9% for acesulfame-potassium, 38.9% for saccharin, and 1.9% for cyclamate. We observed no differences in ASs distributions between the groups.

Original languageEnglish
Article number2635
JournalNutrients
Volume14
Issue13
ISSN2072-6643
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2022

Keywords

  • artificial sweeteners
  • breast milk
  • breastfeeding
  • infant
  • lactation
  • nutrition
  • offspring health

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Artificial Sweeteners in Breast Milk: A Clinical Investigation with a Kinetic Perspective'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this