Determination of the genotoxic effects of sweeteners, mannitol and lactitol

Abstract

The changes in dietary habit around the world have led to an increased use of additives in the food. The safety of food additives has been a main focus of research for many years due to the ongoing debate on their potential effects on health. In this study, the in vitro genotoxic effects of mannitol and lactitol, polyols used as sweetener food additives, were evaluated using chromosomal aberrations (CAs) and micronucleus (MN) assays in human peripheral lymphocytes. Additionally, the effects of these sweeteners on the mitotic index (MI) and nuclear division index (NDI) were investigated. Concentrations of 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, and 8000 μg/mL for mannitol and 250, 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 μg/mL for lactitol were used. The results indicated that both polyols did not affect CA and MN frequency, and did not cause a significant change in NDI at all treatment concentratoins. However, mannitol (except at concentrations of 500 and 1000 μg/mL) and lactitol (except at 250 μg/mL) significantly decreased the MI compared to the control at almost all concentrations and treatment times. In conclusion, it was observed that mannitol and lactitol did not have a significant genotoxic effect at the concentrations used in human lymphocytes in vitro.

Keywords:

• Mannitol
• lactitol
• food additive
• genotoxicity
• human lymphocytes

Acknowledgments

This study was partially supported by Amasya University Research Fund under Project No. FMB-BAP 20-0459.

Ethics approval

The study was carried out with the permission of Amasya University Clinical Research Ethics Committee (11.06.2020/42). Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants (2 female and 1 male donor for whole blood) included in the study.

Author contributions

This paper was produced from Ebru Eker-Kartal’s Master’s thesis. Ece Avuloglu-Yilmaz was supervisor of Ebru Eker-Kartal’s Master’s thesis. All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Experimental studies and analysis were performed by Ebru Eker-Kartal and Ece Avuloglu-Yilmaz. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Ece Avuloglu-Yilmaz and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Data availability statement

Data could be available by request.

Additional information

Funding

This study was partially supported by Amasya University Research Fund under Project No. FMB-BAP 20-0459.