The impact of antimicrobial food additives and sweeteners on the growth and metabolite production of gut bacteria.

Metabolic disorders caused by the imbalance of gut microbiota have been associated with the consumption of processed foods. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of antimicrobial food additives (benzoate, sorbate, nitrite, and bisulfite) and sweeteners (saccharin, stevia, sucralose, aspartame, and cyclamate) on the growth and metabolism of some gut and potentially probiotic bacterial species. The effects on the growth of Bifidobacterium longum, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Lactococcus lactis subsp.

Moderate intake of BCAA-rich protein improves glucose homeostasis in high-fat-fed mice.

Notwithstanding the fact that dietary branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) have been considered to be a cause of insulin resistance (IR), evidence indicates that BCAA-rich whey proteins (WPs) do not lead to IR in animals consuming high-fat (HF) diets and may instead improve glucose homeostasis. To address the role of BCAA-rich WP as dietary protein in IR and inflammatory response, we fed C57BL/6J mice either high-fat (HF) or low-fat (LF) diets formulated with moderate protein levels (13% w/w) of either WP or hydrolyzed WP (WPH) and compared them with casein (CAS) as a reference. The muscle and plasma free amino acid profiles, inflammatory parameters and glycemic homeostasis were examined.