Butylated hydroxyanisole and the human gut microbiome in lab tests
What it found
In lab tests using gut bacteria from 24 people, a dose of butylated hydroxyanisole caused no significant changes in how the bacterial communities worked or were structured.
Some smaller shifts did show up at the phylum level.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Community function and structure
At 0.35 g/L, butylated hydroxyanisole produced no statistically significant changes in the functional outputs or community structure for any age group.
Small shifts at phylum level
The changes were not large enough to affect community diversity, but there were some significant decreases at the phylum level.
Genes affected by treatment
Among the genes most significantly affected across age groups were those involved in lipopolysaccharide synthesis and bacterial electron transport, encoded by Bacteroidota, Proteobacteria and Verrucomicrobiota.
Possible mechanism
The authors suggest these genes may hint at a mechanism behind what they call butylated hydroxyanisole's evident but minimally detrimental effect on gut bacteria.
What the authors conclude
“Given what is known about the intracellular activity of BHA, these genes may hint at a mechanism behind BHA's evident, but minimally detrimental effect on the gut microbiota.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say the genes affected by treatment may hint at a mechanism behind butylated hydroxyanisole's evident, but minimally detrimental effect on the gut microbiota.
How it was done
Butylated hydroxyanisole continues to raise consumer concerns, and earlier evaluations of the additive had not looked at its effect on gut bacteria, even though it reaches the colon.
The researchers used a lab model of the gut to test butylated hydroxyanisole on bacterial communities taken from 24 donors, ranging from infants to older adults. The dose tested was 0.35 g/L.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This was a lab model using donated gut bacteria, not people eating the additive.
- It cannot show what happens in a living human gut or over long-term exposure.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Stef Deyaert reports a relationship with Cryptobiotix SA that includes: employment and equity or stocks. Aurelien Baudot reports a relationship with Cryptobiotix SA that includes: board membership and equity or stocks. Pieter Van den Abbeele reports a relationship with Cryptobiotix SA that includes: board membership and equity or stocks. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
- Authors work at
- United States Department of Agriculture, USA; The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, USA; University of Pennsylvania, USA
The paper
- Title
- The food additive butylated hydroxyanisole minimally affects the human gut microbiome ex vivo
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Lemons JMS, Narrowe AB, Firrman J, et al (2025). The food additive butylated hydroxyanisole minimally affects the human gut microbiome ex vivo. Food chemistry. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.143037PubMed 39919360DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error