Abstract

Background: Escalating rates of obesity and public health messages to reduce excessive sugar intake have fueled the consumption of artificial sweeteners (AS) in a wide range of products from breakfast cereals to beverages. However, several observational and laboratory studies link AS consumption with increased appetite, food intake, weight gain and glucose intolerance(1-5). There are very few probing their effect on adipocytes. Therefore, we want to study the effect of different AS on glucose uptake in adipocytes. Aims and objectives: To study the effect of saccharin, sucralose and cyclamate on glucose uptake in 3T3 cell lines. Materials and Methods: 3T3 cells from ATCC were grown in DMEM. A day prior to the experiment, they were incubated with varying concentration (untreated, 1nM, 1μM or 1mM) of one of the AS for basal uptake and another set of wells were treated with AS and 10nM insulin for stimulated uptake. After 24h incubation, glucose uptake was studied with radiolabeled 2- deoxy glucose by liquid scintillation counter and expressed per mg of protein. Results and Conclusion: 2-way Anova was done. Cyclamate and saccharin showed an increase in uptake with increase in concentration. But sucralose shows a significant decrease in uptake with increase in concentration. All AS do not have similar effect on glucose uptake by cells. Sucralose decreases the glucose uptake by cells and may not be the AS of choice in people who already have decreased glucose uptake. AS are not metabolically inert, and it will be necessary to choose the right AS based on the metabolic status of the individual.

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