The Effect of Artificial Sweetener “Cipla” on Liver Function in Diabetic Male Rats

Introduction In the carbohydrate metabolism, the liver has an important role and regulates the blood glucose by glycogenesis and glycogenolysis (1,2). The prevalence of diabetes is increasing in developing countries and it is expected that the prevalence of type 2 diabetes increases explosively (3). Currently, diabetes is incurable, and the glycemic should be controlled to delay the complications (4). Nonnutritive sweeteners have a role in glycemic control (5). Sweeteners are classified into four main natural, artificial, purified, and sugar-alcohol groups. The consumption of these substances increases, along with the appearance of the sugar industry and the production of various purified sweeteners. However, the spread of other metabolic disorders, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes due to inevitable changes and the lifestyle of humans has led humans to substitute it with artificial sweeteners (6). These substances do not produce much energy and some are defecated without entering the metabolic process. The production of these substances facilitates the production of soft drinks, chocolates, and diet jams for the consumption of diabetics and obese people while the main problem for consuming these substances is their potential health risks to human beings. These substances should be used as additives in the food industry after the approval and ratification of usage in foodstuff (7). In this study, a non-sugar sweetener Cipla was used consisting mostly of sucralose, which is the only calorie-free sweetener and is derived from sugar and is 600 times sweeter than sugar (6,8,9). The replacement of three molecules of chlorine makes sucralose, like sugar, unbreakable or metabolized. Therefore, sucralose quickly passes through the body without changing and is considered as an inert and safe substance (10). Sucralose was first discovered in 1976 and then approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1998 (9,11). It is easily soluble in water and could be used in cooking due to its excellent durability. In addition, sucralose tastes like sugar, which is completely understandable and does not have a pleasant taste. Further, sucralose is sweet and its sweetness remains in the mouth and causes no unpleasant taste (11). So far, no documented report has been reported for the adverse complications of this substance, including dental decay, increased sugar among diabetics, genetic changes, cancer, immunologic problems, central nervous system and environmental disorders, and birth defects (12,13). The commercial sweetener (Cipla) was used in this study because it contains 6.5 mg lactose, cellulose, and magnesium stearates in addition to sucralose and has low calorie. The current study investigated the effect of artificial sweeteners on the liver function in diabetic and healthy rats. Abstract Objectives: Sucralose is an artificial sweetener of sucrose, which is 600 times sweeter than sugar and produces low calories. Cipla is a commercial sweetener, which has sucralose and other various constituents. The present study evaluated the effects of Cipla on some biochemical factors of rats. Materials and Methods: The study was done on 24 male rats, which was randomly distributed to 4 groups of healthy control, diabetics control, treatment healthy, and diabetics treatment. Healthy and diabetic control groups were fed with a base diet. Healthy and diabetics treatment groups received sucralose through gavage 15 mg/kg daily for a month. Then, streptozotocin was administered intra-peritoneally (65 mg/kg one dose) to induce diabetes. At the end of the study, albumin, bilirubin, total protein, alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) of the serum were evaluated and the results were analyzed by SPSS 22. Results: The results indicated that the total proteins of the serum, albumin, and bilirubin, ALT, AST, and ALP were not different statistically in different groups (P>0.05). Conclusions: In general, it was found that Cipla as a sweetener has not any side effects and has no negative effects on the liver function of the rat.