Murine gut microbiota response to stevia, saccharin, and low/high fat diet

Consumption of non-caloric artificial sweeteners (NAS) has dramatically increased in recent years, is known to induce glucose intolerance by altering the gut microbiota, and has prompted a need to identify alternative, healthier NAS. One potential option is stevia, which has been used for centuries as a food sweetener and medicine, but has only recently gained popularity. We used 16S rRNA sequencing of the V4 region to describe the murine gut microbiota's reponse to stevia and evaluate whether stevia supplementation would correct high fat diet-induced glucose intolerance and lead to corresponding changes in the gut microbiota. Fecal samples were collected from mice in four treatment groups: (1) low fat diet, (2) high fat diet, (3) high fat diet with saccharin supplementation, or (4) high fat diet with stevia supplementation.