AUTHOR=Elmén Lisa , Zlamal Jaime E. , Scott David A. , Lee Ryan B. , Chen Daniel J. , Colas Alexandre R. , Rodionov Dmitry A. , Peterson Scott N. 

TITLE=Dietary Emulsifier Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate Alters Gut Microbiota in vitro and Inhibits Bacterial Butyrate Producers

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.00892

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2020.00892

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Dietary emulsifiers are widely used in industrially processed foods, although the effects of these food additives on human gut microbiota are not well studied. Here, we investigated the effects of five different emulsifiers [glycerol monoacetate, glycerol monostearate, glycerol monooleate, propylene glycol monostearate, and sodium stearoyl lactylate (SSL)] on fecal microbiota <italic>in vitro.</italic> We found that 0.025% (w/v) of SSL reduced the relative abundance of the bacterial class Clostridia and others. The relative abundance of the families <italic>Clostridiaceae</italic>, <italic>Lachnospiraceae</italic>, and <italic>Ruminococcaceae</italic> was substantially reduced whereas that of <italic>Bacteroidaceae</italic> and <italic>Enterobacteriaceae</italic> was increased. Given the marked impact of SSL on Clostridia, we used genome reconstruction to predict community-wide production of short-chain fatty acids, which were experimentally assessed by GC-MS analysis. SSL significantly reduced concentrations of butyrate, and increased concentrations of propionate compared to control cultures. The presence of SSL increased lipopolysaccharide, LPS and flagellin in cultured communities, thereby enhancing the proinflammatory potential of SSL-selected bacterial communities.</p>