Ultra-Processed Food and Gut Microbiota: Do Additives Affect Eubiosis? A Narrative Review

Overview

Journal Nutrients

Date 2025 Jan 11

PMID 39796436

Authors

Antonio Bevilacqua

Barbara Speranza

Angela Racioppo

Antonella Santillo

Marzia Albenzio

Antonio Derossi

Rossella Caporizzi

Matteo Francavilla

Deborah Racca

Zina Flagella

Michele Andrea De Santis

Antonio Elia

Giulia Conversa

Luciana Luchetti

Milena Sinigaglia

Maria Rosaria Corbo

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The gut microbiota plays a key role in health and disease, but it could be affected by various factors (diet, lifestyle, environment, genetics, etc.). Focusing on diet, while the role of the different styles and choices (Mediterranean vs. Western diet, vegan or vegetarian diets) has been extensively studied, there are a few comprehensive papers on the effects of additives and food processing. Therefore, the main goal of this manuscript is to propose an overview of the link between ultra-processed foods and the gut microbiota based on papers and data available in the literature. The literature search was performed on PubMed and Clinicaltrials.gov, and after the selection of the most relevant articles, the paper proposes a synopsis of the effects of some classes of additives (sweeteners, preservatives, emulsifiers, glutamate, etc.), as well as of some treatments, on the gut microbiota and some pathological conditions.

Citing Articles

The Detrimental Impact of Ultra-Processed Foods on the Human Gut Microbiome and Gut Barrier.

Rondinella D, Raoul P, Valeriani E, Venturini I, Cintoni M, Severino A Nutrients. 2025; 17(5).

PMID: 40077728 PMC: 11901572. DOI: 10.3390/nu17050859.

References

Bettini S, Boutet-Robinet E, Cartier C, Comera C, Gaultier E, Dupuy J . Food-grade TiO impairs intestinal and systemic immune homeostasis, initiates preneoplastic lesions and promotes aberrant crypt development in the rat colon. Sci Rep. 2017; 7:40373. PMC: 5247795. DOI: 10.1038/srep40373. View

Cammarota G, Ianiro G, Kelly C, Mullish B, Allegretti J, Kassam Z . International consensus conference on stool banking for faecal microbiota transplantation in clinical practice. Gut. 2019; 68(12):2111-2121. PMC: 6872442. DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2019-319548. View

Song Z, Song R, Liu Y, Wu Z, Zhang X . Effects of ultra-processed foods on the microbiota-gut-brain axis: The bread-and-butter issue. Food Res Int. 2023; 167:112730. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2023.112730. View

Monteiro C, Cannon G, Moubarac J, Levy R, Louzada M, Jaime P . The UN Decade of Nutrition, the NOVA food classification and the trouble with ultra-processing. Public Health Nutr. 2017; 21(1):5-17. PMC: 10261019. DOI: 10.1017/S1368980017000234. View

Palmnas M, Cowan T, Bomhof M, Su J, Reimer R, Vogel H . Low-dose aspartame consumption differentially affects gut microbiota-host metabolic interactions in the diet-induced obese rat. PLoS One. 2014; 9(10):e109841. PMC: 4197030. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0109841. View

Chassaing B, Koren O, Goodrich J, Poole A, Srinivasan S, Ley R . Dietary emulsifiers impact the mouse gut microbiota promoting colitis and metabolic syndrome. Nature. 2015; 519(7541):92-6. PMC: 4910713. DOI: 10.1038/nature14232. View

Uebanso T, Ohnishi A, Kitayama R, Yoshimoto A, Nakahashi M, Shimohata T . Effects of Low-Dose Non-Caloric Sweetener Consumption on Gut Microbiota in Mice. Nutrients. 2017; 9(6). PMC: 5490539. DOI: 10.3390/nu9060560. View

Monteiro C, Cannon G, Levy R, Moubarac J, Louzada M, Rauber F . Ultra-processed foods: what they are and how to identify them. Public Health Nutr. 2019; 22(5):936-941. PMC: 10260459. DOI: 10.1017/S1368980018003762. View

Almutairi R, Basson A, Wearsh P, Cominelli F, Rodriguez-Palacios A . Validity of food additive maltodextrin as placebo and effects on human gut physiology: systematic review of placebo-controlled clinical trials. Eur J Nutr. 2022; 61(6):2853-2871. PMC: 9835112. DOI: 10.1007/s00394-022-02802-5. View

10.

Cuevas-Sierra A, Milagro F, Aranaz P, Martinez J, Riezu-Boj J . Gut Microbiota Differences According to Ultra-Processed Food Consumption in a Spanish Population. Nutrients. 2021; 13(8). PMC: 8398738. DOI: 10.3390/nu13082710. View

11.

Juul F, Vaidean G, Parekh N . Ultra-processed Foods and Cardiovascular Diseases: Potential Mechanisms of Action. Adv Nutr. 2021; 12(5):1673-1680. PMC: 8483964. DOI: 10.1093/advances/nmab049. View

12.

Gardana C, Simonetti P, Canzi E, Zanchi R, Pietta P . Metabolism of stevioside and rebaudioside A from Stevia rebaudiana extracts by human microflora. J Agric Food Chem. 2003; 51(22):6618-22. DOI: 10.1021/jf0303619. View

13.

Wu L, Lv X, Zhang Y, Xin Q, Zou Y, Li X . Tartrazine exposure results in histological damage, oxidative stress, immune disorders and gut microbiota dysbiosis in juvenile crucian carp (Carassius carassius). Aquat Toxicol. 2021; 241:105998. DOI: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2021.105998. View

14.

Li P, Li M, Wu T, Song Y, Li Y, Huang X . Systematic evaluation of antimicrobial food preservatives on glucose metabolism and gut microbiota in healthy mice. NPJ Sci Food. 2022; 6(1):42. PMC: 9470552. DOI: 10.1038/s41538-022-00158-y. View

15.

Atzeni A, Martinez M, Babio N, Konstanti P, Tinahones F, Vioque J . Association between ultra-processed food consumption and gut microbiota in senior subjects with overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome. Front Nutr. 2022; 9:976547. PMC: 9589409. DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2022.976547. View

16.

Paudel D, Nair D, Tian S, Hao F, Goand U, Joseph G . Dietary fiber guar gum-induced shift in gut microbiota metabolism and intestinal immune activity enhances susceptibility to colonic inflammation. Gut Microbes. 2024; 16(1):2341457. PMC: 11028019. DOI: 10.1080/19490976.2024.2341457. View

17.

Mafra D, Baptista B, Sahiun E, Abuznada S, Leal V, Borges N . May polydextrose potentially improve gut health in patients with chronic kidney disease?. Clin Nutr ESPEN. 2022; 51:7-16. DOI: 10.1016/j.clnesp.2022.08.025. View

18.

Zhang Z, Li D . Thermal processing of food reduces gut microbiota diversity of the host and triggers adaptation of the microbiota: evidence from two vertebrates. Microbiome. 2018; 6(1):99. PMC: 5984331. DOI: 10.1186/s40168-018-0471-y. View

19.

Barber C, Sabater C, Guarner F, Margolles A, Azpiroz F . Metabolic response of intestinal microbiota to guar gum consumption. Front Nutr. 2023; 10:1160694. PMC: 10349393. DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1160694. View

20.

Wu W, Zhou J, Xuan R, Chen J, Han H, Liu J . Dietary κ-carrageenan facilitates gut microbiota-mediated intestinal inflammation. Carbohydr Polym. 2021; 277:118830. DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2021.118830. View