Maltodextrin, gut mucus and colitis in mice
What it found
In mice bred to be prone to gut inflammation, eating maltodextrin led to more colitis and earlier disease, and it also reduced mucus-making cells in lab-grown gut tissue.
The work was done in animals and cells, not people.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Colitis in mice
Mice eating maltodextrin or carboxymethyl cellulose developed colitis more often and sooner than mice on the control diet. About 11% of control mice got colitis, compared with 25% on maltodextrin and 33% on carboxymethyl cellulose.
Gut bacteria changes
Both additives lowered the variety of gut bacteria and changed which types were present. Levels of acetic acid, a substance made by gut bacteria, also dropped.
Mucus barrier damage
Mice fed either additive had fewer mucus-making cells and less mucus in their guts. Gut bacteria were found closer to the gut lining, suggesting the mucus barrier was weaker.
Direct effect on gut cells
In lab-grown gut lining cells with no bacteria or immune cells, maltodextrin reduced the number of mucus-making cells and the amount of mucus. This shows maltodextrin can act directly on gut cells.
Cell growth and repair
Maltodextrin-fed mice had more dividing cells in their gut lining and signs of an injury-repair response. This was not seen in the lab-grown cells, so other factors may be needed.
What the authors conclude
“These results suggest MDX disrupts the balance of epithelial cell differentiation and proliferation to contribute to disease pathogenesis through direct and indirect actions on the intestinal epithelial barrier.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say maltodextrin disrupts the balance of gut cell growth and specialization, which may contribute to colitis.
- They advise that food additives are not inactive and can combine with genetic risk to speed up colitis.
- They call for more research on whether removing maltodextrin from the diet can reverse the damage.
How it was done
The authors wanted to understand how the food additive maltodextrin might contribute to inflammatory bowel disease, since some diets that cut out food additives have helped patients and additives have worsened colitis in mice.
They fed mice prone to colitis a diet with 1% maltodextrin or 1% carboxymethyl cellulose, or a control diet, for up to 11 weeks, and checked for colitis, gut bacteria, and mucus. They also grew gut lining cells in the lab and exposed them to maltodextrin for 72 hours.
What it can’t tell you
- These are animal and cell studies. They cannot show what happens in people.
- The mice were bred to be prone to colitis, so the results may not apply to everyone.
- The study did not test whether cutting out maltodextrin reverses the effects.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by NIDDK NIH HHS (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
- Authors work at
- Case Western Reserve University, United States; Lerner Research Institute, United States; John Carroll University, United States
The paper
- Title
- Maltodextrin Consumption Impairs the Intestinal Mucus Barrier and Accelerates Colitis Through Direct Actions on the Epithelium
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Zangara MT, Ponti AK, Miller ND, et al (2022). Maltodextrin Consumption Impairs the Intestinal Mucus Barrier and Accelerates Colitis Through Direct Actions on the Epithelium. Frontiers in immunology. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2022.841188Free full textPubMed 35359925DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error