The distinction between a laboratory effect and a health risk matters. Exposing cells directly to a chemical can reveal a potential hazard, but it does not, by itself, show whether eating a food exposes human tissues to enough of that chemical to cause the same damage. The 2023 experiments did not demonstrate such harm from everyday consumption.

Sucralose and the Gut Barrier

The researchers also investigated the intestinal lining, which helps regulate what passes from the digestive tract into the body. Using a laboratory system containing human intestinal tissue, they tested both sucralose and sucralose-6-acetate. Both impaired the barrier’s integrity under the experimental conditions.