Mutual Influence of Sucralose and Bisphenol A on Biological and Neurobehavioral Action in Drosophila melanogaster

Bisphenol A is a synthetic compound widely used as a monomer in plastic and epoxy resins, whilst sucralose is an artificial sweetener frequently added to foods and beverages. Both substances can be detected in the environment and in food, making the assessment of their combined effects relevant from a food safety and public health perspective. The aim of this study is to investigate the biological and neurobehavioural implications of simultaneous exposure to BPA and sucralose in Drosophila melanogaster in vivo. The flies were distributed into two independent experiments: (BPA at 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 mM with a fixed sucralose molarity of 1.25 mM) and (sucralose at 6.3, 12.6, 25.1, and 50.3 mM with a fixed BPA molarity of 0.5 mM) compared to the control group (standard medium). Prolificacy, body weight, longevity, and negative geotaxis were evaluated in adults, whereas locomotor behavior and DNA integrity (Comet assay) were analyzed in L₃ larvae neuroblasts. The results revealed that the co-exposure to BPA and sucralose induces a significant reduction in prolificity at 0.5 mM BPA (50% at the highest concentrations), as well as in body weight and lifespan (54 days vs. 89 days in the control group); neurobehavioral tests revealed impaired locomotion, with a decrease in movement from 60 s in the control group to 0.67 s in treated larvae. DNA damage confirmed that exposure increases DNA strand breaks. This study provides pioneering in vivo evidence that BPA and sucralose together suggest combined toxicity leading to significant physiological homeostasis disruption. Future research should utilize genetic models with varying antioxidant defense capabilities to further define the metabolic variations in these combined exposures.