Chronic oral exposure to food-grade SiO2 nanoparticles for 8 weeks in mice caused colonic barrier injury, elevated circulating LPS, microbiota changes at high dose, reduced intestinal and hepatic FXR-related markers, altered bile acid synthesis and transport genes, and liver injury, suggesting disturbance of intestinal and hepatic homeostasis potentially involving FXR-related bile acid dysregulation along the gut-liver axis.
Dietary SiO2NP exposure for 8 weeks induced colonic barrier injury in male C57BL/6J mice.
SiO2NP exposure elevated circulating lipopolysaccharide (LPS) levels.
High-dose SiO2NP exposure altered fecal microbiota composition compared with controls.
Intestinal and hepatic FXR-related marker expression was reduced after SiO2NP exposure.
SiO2NP exposure altered expression of genes involved in bile acid synthesis and transport.
Exposed mice showed elevated serum total bile acid levels.
SiO2NP exposure caused liver injury with inflammatory, lipid metabolic, and fibrotic responses.
The authors conclude that chronic oral SiO2NP exposure disturbs intestinal and hepatic homeostasis, potentially involving FXR-related bile acid dysregulation.
This study asked whether tiny silica particles, like those found in the common food additive E551 (used to keep powders from clumping), could harm the gut and liver when eaten over a long time. Male mice were fed diets containing silica nanoparticles at three dose levels for 8 weeks, and were compared with mice on a normal diet. The exposed mice showed damage to the colon's barrier and higher levels of a bacterial toxin (LPS) in the blood. In the highest-dose group, the gut bacteria community differed from that of control mice. Signals tied to FXR, a receptor that helps regulate bile acids, were reduced in the gut and liver, and genes for making and moving bile acids were changed. The mice also had higher bile acid levels in the blood and signs of liver injury, including inflammation, altered fat metabolism, and scarring-related changes. This research suggests that long-term, high-level exposure to silica nanoparticles may disturb the communication between the gut and liver in mice, possibly through bile acid regulation. The doses were given to mice in an animal study, and the abstract does not show how these results would translate to typical human dietary exposure, so the findings point to a need for further research rather than direct conclusions about human health.
Qu Z, Wang P, Zhang S, Wang J, Wang Y, Wu Y, et al.. (2026). Food-Grade Silicon Dioxide Nanoparticles Disrupt the Microbiota-Associated Gut-Liver Axis and FXR-Related Bile Acid Homeostasis in Mice.. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.6c06989