During last years, non-caloric sweeteners (NCSs) have been increasingly incorporated into foodstuffs in replacement of sucrose in Chile. This situation has reached a point where it is currently difficult to find sugary foods without NCSs. As a result, the voluntary and involuntary consumption of these additives is growing significantly in the population, increasing the risk of exceeding the acceptable daily intake (ADI), especially for children. This situation is worrying as recent evidence suggests that NCSs are not inert in the body and can trigger adverse metabolic effects. For example, the consumption of beverages with NCSs has been shown to favor the development of obesity and type-2 diabetes in children and adults, and a recent study reported that the intake of NCSs during pregnancy was associated with a greater weight gain of the child at one year. It is likely that certain NCSs pass into the amniotic fluid and that the fetus is exposed to some of these compounds during pregnancy. This situation would persist in the infant through breast milk, as some studies detected sucralose and acesulfame-K in this fluid, even in mothers who claimed not to consume them. However, the real impact of NCS exposure during the neonatal period on the child health has been few studied. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the concentration of NCSs in samples of amniotic liquid and breastmilk and to correlate these data with the NCS intake by the mothers. Mothers/children will be classified in quintiles according to the results obtained. In the children from quintiles 1 and 5, we will also study whether neonatal exposure to NCSs may affect the sweet taste threshold and the preferences for this taste, the levels of salivary insulin and the weight gain in the first year. Breastmilk microbiota and child fecal microbiota will be also evaluated.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
315
Mothers with breastmilk NCSs
Proportion of mothers with detectable NCSs in their breastmilk
Time frame: One month post-partum
Mothers with amniotic liquid NCSs
Proportion of mothers with detectable NCSs in their amniotic liquid
Time frame: At delivery
Consumption of NCSs by the mothers
Daily intake (mg/d) of sucralose, acesulfame-K, cyclamate, saccharin and stevia evaluated through a validated consumer trend survey
Time frame: At recruitment (in the last month of pregnancy) and at 1 mont post-partum
Pregnancy complications
Percentages of mothers with preclampsia, hypertension, gestacional diabetes, infections, or preterm labor
Time frame: At delivery
Breastmilk concentrations of NCSs
Concentrations of sucralose, acesulfame-K, cyclamate, saccharin, steviol in breastmilk samples
Time frame: One month post-partum
Amniotic liquid concentrations of NCSs
Concentrations of sucralose, acesulfame-K, cyclamate, saccharin, steviol in amniotic liquid samples
Time frame: At delivery
Sweet taste of breastmilk
Intensity (arbitrary units) of sweet taste in breast milk samples, as detected by e-tongue
Time frame: One month post-partum
Sweet taste of amniotic liquid
Intensity (arbitrary units) of sweet taste in amniotic liquid samples, as detected by e-tongue
Time frame: At delivery
Threshold of sweet taste in children
Determination of sweet taste threshold (lower concentration of sucrose detected) in children from quintiles 1 and 5 of classification according to the concentrations of NCS in breast milk that received
Time frame: 6 months
Food preferences in children
Food consumption in children from quintiles 1 and 5 of classification according to the concentrations of NCS in breast milk that receiveded,through a validated consumer trend survey
Time frame: At 6 month of age
Salivary insulin in children
Salivary concentration of insulin (pg/ml) in children from quintiles 1 and 5 of classification according to the concentrations of NCS in breast milk that they received
Time frame: 6 months
Infant gain weight
Changes in weight (kg) during the first year of life
Time frame: At 12 months
Breast milk microbiota diversity
Intraindividual diversity of the breastmilk microbiota evaluated by Shannon index in samples from quintiles 1 and 5 of classification according to their NCS concentrations
Time frame: At one month post-partum
Breast milk microbiota composition
Relative abundancies of the different bacterial taxa from the breastmilk microbiota, detected by high throughput sequencing, in samples from quintiles 1 and 5 of classification according to their NCS concentrations
Time frame: At one month post-partum
Fecal microbiota diversity in children
Intraindividual diversity of the fecal microbiota, evaluated by Shannon index, in children from quintiles 1 and 5 of classification according to the concentrations of NCS in breast milk that they received
Time frame: At six months post-partum
Fecal microbiota composition in children
Relative abundancies of the different bacterial taxa from the fecal microbiota, detected by high throughput sequencing, in children from quintiles 1 and 5 of classification according to the concentrations of NCS in breast milk that they received
Time frame: At six months post-partum
Polymorphism of sweet taste receptor in children
Proportions of children presenting the different polymorphisms on the sweet taste receptor gene.
Time frame: At six months post-partum
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