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Pg8.5
PHGG Research
Likely helpsHigh safety
20 peer-reviewed studies
What the evidence says
Likely helps
PHGG appears to help in 5 of 5 studies with measurable effects — the evidence leans clearly favourable.
Most evidence is from high-quality randomised trials published 2005–2024 with a typical study size of 52 participants.
Based on 20 studies · 14 RCTs · 896 total participants
Confidence
Moderate
What the studies found
5helped· 15 more without graded effect data
By outcome
Digestive healthImproved bowel regularity and reduced IBS symptoms within 2-4 weeks · 2-4 weeks
Likely helps20 studies
Weight management
Mostly mechanism / observational4 studies
Safety profile
Mostly mechanism / observational4 studies
Glucose & metabolic
Too few graded studies1 study
Immune support
Too few graded studies1 study
Cognitive function
Too few graded studies1 study
Sleep & insomnia
Too few graded studies1 study
Therapeutic & clinical
Too few graded studies1 study
By the numbers
Pulled from 18 studies with measurable effects
Likely real effects
75%
across studies
People studied
896
typical study: 52 people
Strongest designs
14
0 pooled, 14 randomised
Showed benefit
100%
5/5 studies
How long studies ran
Under a week
3
1–3 months
4
3+ months
1
Populations Studied
Patients with irritable bowel syndrome2
Healthy adults2
Healthy subjects2
Normal subjects1
Active research area
6 studies in the last 5 years
200520142024
1Systematic Review2017
In other clinical situations, more quality studies would be necessary in order to make concrete recommendations.
Cantón Blanco A et al. · Nutricion hospitalaria (2017)
Its use in enteral nutrition associated diarrhea is supported by several studies and by the recommendations of scientific societies such as the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism and the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.
The usefulness of GGPH has been studied in many other clinical situations, such as diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, bacterial overgrowth, etc. with promising results.
Conclusions: GGPH is useful in the management of enteral nutrition associated diarrhea.
Regular intake of guar fiber at a dose of 2g/serving provided significant sustained post-meal satiation effects and minimized the inter-meal calorie intake by about 20% in normal subjects.
Rao TP · Physiology & behavior (2016)
Large benefit
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Regular intake of guar fiber at a dose of 2g/serving provided significant sustained post-meal satiation effects and minimized the inter-meal calorie intake by about 20% in normal subjects.
Guar fiber containing >85% dietary fiber, with clear solubility and negligible taste impact, may be an ideal natural dietary fiber for use in food and supplement applications at low dosage levels for appetite control.
The intake of guar fiber alone at a dose >5g/serving or its combination with protein (2.6g guar fiber+8g protein/serving) showed acute satiety effects in normal subjects.
3Safety and efficacy reviewSystematic ReviewCited 12×2013
Not all the fibers are the same: this is a fact.
Quartarone G · Minerva gastroenterologica e dietologica (2013)
Not all the fibers are the same: this is a fact.
Promoting the specific knowledge of their characteristics is very important if healthcare professionals want to give their patients the best options for functional gastrointestinal disorders or nutritional needs.
PHGG (Benefiber™ Novartis CH) has been proved to be safe and effective in promoting gut health.
Moreover, PHGG seems to have prebiotic properties because it increases the colonic contents of short-chain fatty acids, Lactobacilli, and Bifidobacteria.
Giannini EG et al. · Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.) (2006)
Partially hydrolyzed guar gum (PHGG) is a water-soluble, non-gelling fiber that has provided therapeutic benefits.
In clinical trials, PHGG decreased symptoms in constipation-predominant and diarrhea-predominant forms of IBS and decreased abdominal pain.
Further, an improvement in quality of life was observed in patients with IBS during and after treatment with PHGG.
In summary, supplementation with PHGG was effective in improving cognitive functions, particularly visual memory, as well as enhancing sleep quality and vitality in healthy elderly individuals (UMIN000049070).
Abe A et al. · Nutrients (2024)
The visual memory scores in cognitive function tests and sleepiness on rising scores related to sleep quality were significantly improved in the PHGG group compared to the placebo group.
Vigor-activity scores were significantly improved, while the scores for Confusion-Bewilderment decreased significantly in the PHGG group when compared to the baseline.
No significant differences were observed in mood parameters between the groups.
6Cold-like symptomsRCTCited 5×n=96 · small study2022
PHGG intake may affect immune function and suppress cold-like symptoms through the production of SCFAs in healthy adults.
Sakai S et al. · European review for medical and pharmacological sciences (2022)
PHGG intake may affect immune function and suppress cold-like symptoms through the production of SCFAs in healthy adults.
Further research warranted to confirm findings
7Stool formRCTCited 53×n=44 · small study2019
Our results suggest that intake of PHGG improves human stool form via regulating intestinal microbiota.
Yasukawa Z et al. · Nutrients (2019)
Intake of the PHGG for 3 months significantly improved stool form, evaluated using BSS, and had no effects on stool frequency.
BSS was significantly normalized in the group consuming the PHGG compared with the placebo.
Comprehensive fecal microbiome analysis by the 16S rRNA-sequence method detected significant changes in the ratio of some bacteria, such as an increase of Bifidobacterium (p < 0.05) in the PHGG group.
8Success rate at 12-month followupRCTCited 8×n=165 · medium study2014
The maintenance therapy with PHGG in patients with healed CAF after chemical sphincterotomy by topical application of GTN 0.4% ointment seems associated with a significant reduction of recurrence rate and with a significant increase of success rate at 12-month followup.
Brillantino A et al. · BioMed research international (2014)
Huge benefit
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Likely real
The success and recurrence rate at 12-month followup were, respectively, 38.3% (28/73) in group I versus 58.5% (41/70) in group II (P = 0.019; Fisher's exact test) and 30.2% (13/43) in group I versus 14.5% (7/48) in group II (P = 0.0047; Fisher's exact test).
The maintenance therapy with PHGG in patients with healed CAF after chemical sphincterotomy by topical application of GTN 0.4% ointment seems associated with a significant reduction of recurrence rate and with a significant increase of success rate at 12-month followup.
9Diarrhea frequency reductionRCTCited 34×n=30 · small study2021
Supplementation of PHGG potentially increased the bifidobacterial count and seemed to have post-supplementation effects by reducing the frequency of diarrhea upon the completion of pelvic radiation treatment.
Rosli D et al. · JPEN. Journal of parenteral and enteral nutrition (2021)
A total of 30 patients (mean age 56.5 ± 10.8 years, 75% malnourished) participated.
Supplementation of PHGG potentially increased the bifidobacterial count and seemed to have post-supplementation effects by reducing the frequency of diarrhea upon the completion of pelvic radiation treatment.
10Laxative use reductionRCTCited 15×n=52 · small study2022
This study showed that daily dietary fibre supplementation by using PHGG for 4 weeks in LTCF residents results in significantly less laxative use than placebo.
Chan TC et al. · The journal of nutrition, health & aging (2022)
This study showed that daily dietary fibre supplementation by using PHGG for 4 weeks in LTCF residents results in significantly less laxative use than placebo.
It may be an effective way to reduce laxative dependence among older people living in LTCFs.
The acute intake of FOS increased gastric emptying, whereas both FOS and PHGG reduced small intestine transit without altering the levels of intestinal hormones, hunger feelings and satiety, or the desire to eat.
da Silva MVT et al. · Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.) (2022)
Huge benefit
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Borderline
The gastric emptying of the FOS-based diet (84.2 ± 9.4%) within 2 h was statistically increased compared with the placebo and PHGG-based diets (78 ± 10.2% and 74 ± 15.3%, respectively; P < 0.05).
However, a reduction in small intestinal transit was observed after consumption of both FOS- and PHGG-based diets (28.5 ± 15.56% and 24.2 ± 13.7%, respectively) compared with the placebo diet (41.20 ± 15.4%; P < 0.05).
The acute intake of FOS increased gastric emptying, whereas both FOS and PHGG reduced small intestine transit without altering the levels of intestinal hormones, hunger feelings and satiety, or the desire to eat.
Consumption of I-PHGG produced clinical results comparable to placebo in constipated females, but had additional protective effects on gut microbiota by decreasing the amount of pathological bacteria of the Clostridium genera.
Linetzky Waitzberg D et al. · Nutricion hospitalaria (2012)
Total Clostridium sp significantly decreased in the fiber group (p = 0.046) and increased in the placebo group (p = 0.047).
Consumption of I-PHGG produced clinical results comparable to placebo in constipated females, but had additional protective effects on gut microbiota by decreasing the amount of pathological bacteria of the Clostridium genera.
Further research warranted to confirm findings
13Stool frequency and consistencyRCTCited 40×n=20 · very small study2020
The majority of effects disappeared after stopping the prebiotic and most effects tended to be more pronounced in male participants. (4) Conclusions: Herein, we describe novel aspects of the prebiotic PHGG on compositional and functional properties of the healthy human microbiota.
Reider SJ et al. · Nutrients (2020)
To gain functional insight, we further studied stool metabolites using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. (3) Results: In healthy subjects, PHGG had significant effects on stool frequency and consistency.
These effects were paralleled by changes in α- (species evenness) and β-diversity (Bray-Curtis distances), along with increasing abundances of metabolites including butyrate, acetate and various amino acids.
On a taxonomic level, PHGG intake was associated with a bloom in Ruminococcus, Fusicatenibacter, Faecalibacterium and Bacteroides and a reduction in Roseburia, Lachnospiracea and Blautia.
14Postprandial glycemic excursionRCTCited 7×n=17 · very small study2020
The combination of HG and HP as double preload resulted in better GR than both single HG or HP preload did.
Zhao W et al. · Nutrients (2020)
Co-preload of partial hydrolyzed guar gum and highly cooked potato (PHG + PHP + R) resulted in improved acute GR in terms of peak glucose value and glycemic excursion compared with either HG preload or HP preload.
All the meals with preload showed comparable or improved self-reported satiety.
Within an equicarbohydrate exchange framework, both high-GI and medium-GI potato preload decreased the postprandial glycemic excursion in young healthy female subjects.
15Colon transit time reductionRCTCited 29×n=49 · small study2014
Four-week PHGG use accelerates colon transit time in patients with chronic constipation, especially in those with slow transit, and improves many of their symptoms including frequency of bowel movements.
Polymeros D et al. · Digestive diseases and sciences (2014)
Noticeable benefit
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Likely real
Forty-nine patients received treatment; 39 (80 %) completed the study.
Treatment significantly reduced colon transit time, from 57.28 ± 39.25 to 45.63 ± 37.27 h (p = 0.026), a reduction more prominent in slow transit patients (from 85.50 ± 27.75 to 63.65 ± 38.11 h, p = 0.016).
In addition, the number of bowel movements with straining decreased (p < 0.001) and stool form improved (p < 0.001), while days with laxative intake and days with abdominal pain decreased (p = 0.001 and p = 0.027, respectively).
16IBS symptoms and quality of lifeRCTCited 27×n=40 · small study2005
Since the improvement tended to decrease after the end of the treatment period, further studies should evaluate the benefits of PHGG at a maintenance dosage.
Parisi G et al. · Digestive diseases and sciences (2005)
However, the improvement was significantly reduced at follow-up compared to the end of treatment.
In both groups symptoms and quality of life improved significantly after the first month of administration until follow-up compared to those at baseline.
PHGG was effective for improving somatic (gastrointestinal symptoms) and psychological (quality of life and psychological distress) symptoms over the short term.
17Stool weight reductionRCTCited 19×n=195 · medium study2008
PHGG-added ORS might have a beneficial effect in moderately purging adult cholera.
Alam NH et al. · Digestion (2008)
Noticeable benefit
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Likely real
In the subgroup analysis (excluding very high purging patients, stool weight in the first 24 h was >10 kg), the stool weight (g/kg b.w.) was significantly reduced in the first 24 h in both groups receiving PHGG (PHGG 25 g, 136 +/- 68 vs.
PHGG 50 g, 144 +/- 49 vs. control, 176 +/- 43, p = 0.01).
PHGG-added ORS might have a beneficial effect in moderately purging adult cholera.