Biology research on how the popular artificial sweetener Sucralose may harm gut bacteria beneficial to human health

Sucralose Affects Bacteria

Our laboratory is showing that Sucralose, found in the artificial sweetener Splenda®, inhibits the growth of some beneficial gut bacteria.

I am a scientist and educator at the University of North Florida. I have been teaching since 1990, and have mentored many student independent science projects. Recently I re-entered the scientific research publication arena after a long hiatus during which I was concentrating on being a scientific educator. My most recent published work is on the effects of the artificial sweetener sucralose on bacteria found in the environment. It can be read in the online journal articles: 'Differential Bacteriostatic Effects of Sucralose on Various Species of Environmental Bacteria' and in the second more detailed article 'Metabolic Effects of Sucralose on Environmental Bacteria'. Since those publications, my research has shifted its focus to studying how sucralose affects bacteria that live in the human alimentary canal; our 'gut'. This is an exciting area of research because some specific gut microbe populations have been linked to Body Mass Index pathology and obesity.