INTESTINAL MICROBIOTA AND ARTIFICIAL FOOD ADDITIVES IN MODERN FOOD SUPPLY: EVALUATING EVIDENCE FOR HEALTH IMPLICATIONS

Ogunsona S. B.*, Omotoso O. G., Okhuoya T. G., Ogunleke O. B.

ABSTRACT

The increasing use of artificial food additives in present-day foods raises major health concerns because their impacts on human health particularly affect the body's gut microbiome. The review evaluates how synthetic food additives which include preservatives and emulsifiers and sweeteners and colorants, and flavour enhancers and thickeners affect the human gut microbiome. The Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) developed the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) system which regulatory bodies including the WHO and FDA and EFSA use to establish safety limits for these substances. The study of multiple additives that can be used together within established safety limits requires further research to determine their combined effects. The intestinal microbiota contains more than 3.3 million microbial genes which belong to six major bacterial phyla, and they control multiple functions which include immune system defense and metabolic balance and brain development and nutrient production. Research studies show that specific additives bring about substantial changes which affect both the structure and operational characteristics of this ecosystem. The emulsifiers polysorbate 80 (E433) and carboxymethyl cellulose (E466) leads to Bacteroidota population decline and triggers low-grade intestinal inflammation. Synthetic sweeteners including saccharine (E954) and sucralose (E955) induce glucose intolerance through microbiome disruption while nanoparticle-based colorants such as titanium dioxide (E171) and silver (E174) denature microbial lipopolysaccharides and impair membrane integrity. The additives which include certain thickeners and sugar alcohol-based sweeteners provide prebiotic benefits because they increase short-chain fatty acid production and fermentation activity. The current research findings show that the existing evidence base remains incomplete because most research studies focus exclusively on either animal testing or laboratory experiments and there is insufficient human data about how combined additive substances affect people over extended periods. The review shows that scientific evidence supports a precautionary shift toward bio-preservation methods which use bacteriocins from lactic acid bacteria together with essential oils and plant-based phytochemicals to protect both food nutritional value and intestinal microbiome health.

Keywords: Artificial food additives, intestinal microbiota, gut microbiome, emulsifiers, synthetic sweeteners, food safety, bio-preservation, Acceptable Daily Intake.