Histological and histometrical study of duodenum in mice after ingestion of Aspartame

One of the most artificial sweeteners is Aspartame which is commonly used in a variety of foodstuffs.
This study has been carried out in order to evaluate the effects of Aspartame on histology and histometry of duodenum.
Forty female Balb/C mice, 21 days of age were selected and initial weight was determined. The treatment groups received 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg of Aspartame for 6 weeks, control group received only distilled water. At the end of experiment, the mice were reweighed. Then the duodenal tissue sections were prepared and stained with H&E. Besides the histological study, histometric data were collected by a light microscope equipped with Axiovision software.
The body weights in treatment groups (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg) were 5.57±1.18, 4.47±0.89 and 5.84±0.57 respectively, which in comparison with the control group (9.38±0.81) showed a significant difference (p Based on this study, it can be concluded that Aspartame can cause some histological and histometrical changes in duodenum.