Intergenerational Transmission of Low-calorie Sweeteners Via Breast Milk

NCT ID: NCT05379270

Last Updated: 2025-11-12

Study Results

Results available

Outcome measurements, participant flow, baseline characteristics, and adverse events have been published for this study.

View full results

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

82 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2022-02-28

Study Completion Date

2022-12-02

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

This project aims to measure the widely consumed low-calorie sweeteners (LCS) sucralose and acesulfame-potassium, in maternal breast milk and plasma at pre-specified timepoints over 72 hours and in a single sample of infants' plasma. Sucralose and acesulfame-potassium concentrations will be measured using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The data generated will inform the design of larger, longer-term, prospective studies needed to investigate clinically-relevant consequences of early life LCS exposure in humans.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

Low-calorie sweetener (LCS) consumption is highly prevalent among lactating women, yet the current understanding of LCS effects on diet, weight, and health is extremely limited, especially when exposure begins early in life. This project aims to measure the widely consumed LCSs, sucralose and acesulfame-potassium, in maternal breast milk and plasma, at pre-specified, time-points over the course of 72 hours, and in a single sample of infants' plasma (analyzed using a population pharmacokinetics approach).

Mothers will attend an enrollment visit, which will take place virtually and will schedule an in-person visit to take place at Children's National Hospital approximately one week later. During the enrollment visit, informed consent will be obtained and demographic, anthropometric, and dietary data will be collected. During the week prior to their scheduled in-person study visit, mothers will be instructed to continue their usual dietary habits and to complete an online, photo-assisted, 7-day food record.

Mothers will be instructed to arrive fasted for the in-person visit, which will last for approximately 13 hours. Following ingestion of a diet beverage containing sucralose and ace-K, mothers will remain at Children's National for supervised serial sample collection at pre-determined time points over 12 hours, and will provide additional samples on three subsequent consecutive days (72 hours). Mothers will be instructed to continue to complete the online, photo-assisted, food record for the three days following the in-person study visit (until 72 hours following diet beverage consumption).

A plasma sample will be collected from each infant via heel-stick at one of the following pre-specified time intervals following the mother's ingestion of the diet beverage: 1.5-3 hours, 3-5 hours, 5-7 hours, 7-9 hours, 9-14 hours, and 22-36 hours.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Breastfeeding

Keywords

Explore important study keywords that can help with search, categorization, and topic discovery.

low-calorie sweeteners sucralose acesulfame-potassium pharmacokinetics breast milk lactation

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

NA

Intervention Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary Study Purpose

OTHER

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Diet soda

Participants will be asked to ingest 24 of a commercially-available diet beverage sweetened with sucralose and acesulfame-potassium.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Diet soda

Intervention Type OTHER

Participants will be asked to drink 24 ounces of a commercially-available diet beverage sweetened with sucralose and acesulfame-potassium.

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

Diet soda

Participants will be asked to drink 24 ounces of a commercially-available diet beverage sweetened with sucralose and acesulfame-potassium.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* mother gave birth within the past 6 months
* mother ≥18 years of age
* exclusively breastfeeding
* reports consumption of diet, low-calorie sweetener-containing beverages ≥ 1 time per week.
* infants' corrected age \>= 4 weeks

Exclusion Criteria

* known allergy or contraindication to sucralose or acesulfame-potassium (infant or mother)
* active nutritional disorder known to cause malabsorption
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

FEMALE

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

George Washington University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

The George Washington University

Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States

Site Status

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

United States

References

Explore related publications, articles, or registry entries linked to this study.

Sylvetsky AC, Kuttamperoor JT, Langevin B, Murphy J, Arcaro KF, Smolyak S, Walter PJ, Cai H, Daines DH, van den Anker JN, Gopalakrishnan M. Intergenerational transmission of sucralose and acesulfame-potassium from mothers to their infants via human milk: a pharmacokinetic study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2024 Oct;120(4):846-853. doi: 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2024.08.001. Epub 2024 Aug 5.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 39111550 (View on PubMed)

Provided Documents

Download supplemental materials such as informed consent forms, study protocols, or participant manuals.

Document Type: Study Protocol

View Document

Document Type: Statistical Analysis Plan

View Document

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

NCR213471

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id