Sweeteners at the Water–Soil Interface and in Soil Matrices: A Brief Review of Ecotoxicological Impacts
7 affiliations
- 1Animal and Veterinary Research Center (CECAV), Associate Laboratory for Animal and Veterinary Sciences (AL4AnimalS), University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
- 2Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences (CITAB), University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
- 3GeoBioTec Research Centre, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
- 4Geology Department, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
- 5State Scientific Institution “Institute of Ecological Restoration and Development of Ukraine”, Environment Remediation Section, Mytropolite Vasyl Lypkivsky Str. 35, 01001 Kyiv, Ukraine
- 6Disaster and Military Medicine Department, Bukovinian State Medical University, Teatralna Sq. 9, 58001 Chernivtsi, Ukraine
- 7Engineering Faculty, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, s/n, 4200-065 Porto, Portugal
Abstract
Sweeteners have become emerging contaminants in terrestrial and aquatic environments due to their extensive use in food, pharmaceutical, alternative smoking, and personal care products. They reach terrestrial ecosystems from both atmospheric and aquatic ecosystems, making the water–soil interface a critical zone governing their transport, persistence, and environmental fate, which remains mostly unknown, thus creating a gap that needs to be filled. This review aims to summarize current knowledge on the occurrence, mobility, persistence, and ecotoxicological effects of artificial and natural sweeteners in soils and at the water–soil interface, with emphasis on sucralose, saccharin, acesulfame potassium, aspartame, cyclamate, and steviol glycosides. The review covers seventy-two full papers, published from 2004 to 2026, involving sweetener intake and occurrence and environmental fate in soil and at the water–soil interface. Sweeteners may persist in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, inducing, either individually or in combination, oxidative stress and influencing microbial communities and enzymatic activity at the soil–water interface, which affects invertebrates, plant roots, and the overall ecosystem. Their effects on soil biota are still poorly understood. These influences, as well as the effects of long-term persistence and differences in responses across soil types and climatic conditions, are mostly unknown. This review highlights the central role of the soil matrix and water–soil interface in understanding the environmental fate and ecological significance of sweeteners and identifies key gaps requiring further soil-specific research.
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BibTeX
@article{tkach2026sweeteners,
title = {{Sweeteners at the Water–Soil Interface and in Soil Matrices: A Brief Review of Ecotoxicological Impacts}},
author = {Volodymyr V. Tkach and Maria do Rosário Melo da Costa and Tetiana V. Morozova and João Ricardo Sousa and Yana G. Ivanushko and José Inácio Ferrão de Paiva Martins and Isabel Gaivão},
journal = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/ijms27219674},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/21/9674},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Sweeteners at the Water–Soil Interface and in Soil Matrices: A Brief Review of Ecotoxicological Impacts
AU - Volodymyr V. Tkach
AU - Maria do Rosário Melo da Costa
AU - Tetiana V. Morozova
AU - João Ricardo Sousa
AU - Yana G. Ivanushko
AU - José Inácio Ferrão de Paiva Martins
AU - Isabel Gaivão
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/29
JO - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
DO - 10.3390/ijms27219674
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/21/9674
AB - Sweeteners have become emerging contaminants in terrestrial and aquatic environments due to their extensive use in food, pharmaceutical, alternative smoking, and personal care products. They reach terrestrial ecosystems from both atmospheric and aquatic ecosystems, making the water–soil interface a critical zone governing their transport, persistence, and environmental fate, which remains mostly unknown, thus creating a gap that needs to be filled. This review aims to summarize current knowledge on the occurrence, mobility, persistence, and ecotoxicological effects of artificial and natural sweeteners in soils and at the water–soil interface, with emphasis on sucralose, saccharin, acesulfame potassium, aspartame, cyclamate, and steviol glycosides. The review covers seventy-two full papers, published from 2004 to 2026, involving sweetener intake and occurrence and environmental fate in soil and at the water–soil interface. Sweeteners may persist in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, inducing, either individually or in combination, oxidative stress and influencing microbial communities and enzymatic activity at the soil–water interface, which affects invertebrates, plant roots, and the overall ecosystem. Their effects on soil biota are still poorly understood. These influences, as well as the effects of long-term persistence and differences in responses across soil types and climatic conditions, are mostly unknown. This review highlights the central role of the soil matrix and water–soil interface in understanding the environmental fate and ecological significance of sweeteners and identifies key gaps requiring further soil-specific research.
SN - 1422-0067
ER -