The effects of artificial flavorings on intestinal barrier permeability in Drosophila melanogaster

Overview

Increased intestinal permeability has been linked to diseases such as type 2 diabetes and celiac disease, and the prevalence of these diseases has risen as processed foods become a staple part of people's diets. Other research has shown that food additives like artificial sweeteners negatively impact intestinal barrier permeability, but artificial flavorings have not been well studied. The goal of this research was to see if the artificial flavoring diacetyl negatively affects intestinal permeability, and the hypothesis was that diacetyl would increase intestinal permeability. The Drosophila melanogaster strain whiteDahomey has been used as a model to observe intestinal barrier permeability using a Smurf Assay, which was how intestinal permeability was observed in this experiment. For this assay, flies were first fed a regular diet before being transferred to a diet with a non-digestible blue dye (FD&C blue dye #1). The blue dye remains inside the gastrointestinal tract in flies with a healthy gut, but the dye spills out and colors the rest of the body in flies with increased intestinal permeability–these flies are called Smurfs. For this experiment, age-matched flies were fed either no diacetyl or a low, medium, and high concentration of diacetyl. Each experimental group was checked for Smurfs each day for seven days, and the percentage of dead flies and the percentage of Smurf flies were recorded for each experimental group. It was found that the group fed without diacetyl survived the longest and did not become Smurfs, the group fed with a medium concentration of diacetyl had the most Smurfs after the seven-day period, and the group fed with a medium concentration of diacetyl had the most dead flies. These results could suggest a correlation between the consumption of the artificial flavoring diacetyl and an increase in intestinal barrier permeability. Future studies to investigate this potential correlation include observing the flies over their entire lifespan rather than just seven days as well as testing more artificial flavorings.

Awards (1)

• Category Award: HM

Competition history

• CSEF 2023 Toxicology · Entry S2105

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