Impact of food grade and nano-TiO₂ particles on a human intestinal community

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles (NPs) are used as an additive (E171 or INS171) in foods such as gum, candy and puddings. To address concerns about the potential hazardous effects of ingested NPs, the toxicity of these food-grade NPs was investigated with a defined model intestinal bacterial community. Each titania preparation (food-grade TiO₂ formulations, E171-1 and E171-6a) was tested at concentrations equivalent to those found in the human intestine after sampling 1-2 pieces of gum or candy (100-250 ppm). At the low concentrations used, neither the TiO₂ food additives nor control TiO₂ NPs had an impact on gas production and only a minor effect on fatty acids profiles (C16:00, C18:00, 15:1 w5c, 18:1 w9c and 18:1 w9c, p < 0.05). DNA profiles and phylogenetic distributions confirmed limited effects on the bacterial community, with a modest decrease in the relative abundance of the dominant Bacteroides ovatus in favor of Clostridium cocleatum (-13% and +14% respectively, p < 0.05). Such minor shifts in the treated consortia suggest that food grade and nano-TiO₂ particles do not have a major effect on human gut microbiota when tested in vitro at relevant low concentrations. However, the cumulative effects of chronic TiO₂ NP ingestion remain to be tested.