How we rate
“Strong” = several concordant meta-analyses or systematic reviews. “Moderate” = one synthesis, or several controlled trials. “Limited” = early trials only. The rating is about the quality of the studies, not about how useful the supplement is.
Gum arabic (acacia)
Soluble fiber extracted from acacia sap. At 10 g per day, it feeds good gut bacteria and made stools more frequent in irritable bowel syndrome; its effects on weight and blood sugar remain small and poorly studied.
Benefits
- Microbiota: in healthy volunteers, 10 g per day for 4 weeks increased stool bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, at least as well as 10 g of inulin; among 5 to 40 g, 10 g was the optimal dose.
- Irritable bowel syndrome with constipation: in 180 patients, 10 g of acacia fiber per day for 4 weeks made stools more frequent than placebo.
- Weight: across 6 trials and 476 adults, BMI dropped by 0.38 point compared to placebo, and weight by 0.99 kg in healthy individuals.
- Fasting blood sugar: in the same meta-analysis, a drop of 29.76 mg/dL, with widely varying results from one trial to another.
- Metabolic syndrome: in 61 adults who had or were at risk of having one, 20 g per day for 12 weeks lowered blood pressure and fasting blood sugar and reduced bloating, compared to placebo.
- Type 2 diabetes: in 91 patients, 30 g per day for 3 months lowered the visceral adiposity index by 23.7% and systolic pressure by 7.6%, compared to placebo.
- Satiety: in 48 healthy adults, 40 g taken at breakfast reduced hunger and increased the feeling of fullness 15 minutes then 4 hours after the meal.
- Kidney failure: on a low-protein diet, 50 g per day lowered blood urea (from 31.2 to 44.18% in 3 months in dialysis patients); 10 to 40 g per day lowered CRP, an inflammation marker, from 3.5 to 2.8 ng/mL.
Precautions
Digestion: at 40 g in a single dose, bloating, gas, and gurgling were more frequent than with placebo, even though discomfort remained low; at 30 g per day, nausea and loose stools the first week. Kidney disease: in kidney failure patients, 10 to 40 g per day slightly lowered blood sodium (from 138 to 136 mmol/L). Lean mass: in the 12-week trial on metabolic syndrome, lean mass dropped in the gum arabic group, who also ate less. Limits: few trials: the meta-analysis includes only 6 short trials, and its authors ask for results to be taken with caution, especially for blood sugar. Without placebo: trials on rheumatoid arthritis (40 patients) and sickle cell disease (47 patients), which report less inflammation, oxidative stress, and cholesterol, lacked a placebo group. Cholesterol: the 25.9% cholesterol drop comes from a non-randomized trial where the gum was added to atorvastatin; HDL did not budge in this trial or in sickle cell patients. Kidney: a trial on 30 kidney failure patients found no drop in urea or creatinine, and the hope of avoiding dialysis in children rests on two children.
Recommended dosage
10 g per day for the microbiota and irritable bowel syndrome; 20 to 30 g per day in trials on blood pressure, weight, and diabetes.
How to take it
- Who it is for: most trials involve patients (diabetes, kidney failure, irritable bowel syndrome); in healthy individuals, we mainly have the effect on the microbiota, satiety, and a small effect on weight.
- Dose by goal: 10 g per day was enough for the microbiota and irritable bowel syndrome; trials on blood pressure, weight, and diabetes used 20 to 30 g per day.
- Duration: from 4 weeks to 3 months in the trials.
- Form: a powder, diluted in water or orange juice in the trials.
- First days: at 30 g per day, the pasty mouth feeling, nausea, loose stools, and bloating lasted only the first week.
- What does not work: in healthy individuals, the gum did not change the glycemic response of a meal as a whole, only its peak at 30 minutes with 20 g.
Did you know?
At 10 g per day for 4 weeks, gum arabic increased stool bifidobacteria and lactobacilli more than the same dose of inulin, the reference prebiotic.
What the studies say
This systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials in adults examined the effects of oral gum arabic supplementation. The results suggest that gum arabic can contribute to a significant reduction in body mass index (BMI), weight, and fasting blood glucose. These effects could position gum arabic as a promising nutritional intervention for managing cardiometabolic risk factors and weight loss in adults.
Jumaa MA, Budh DP, Nazir Q, Rahman MJ, Radix C. — Journal of diabetes and metabolic disorders (2026) — View the source study
For information only: not a substitute for medical advice. Dietary supplements are not a replacement for a varied, balanced diet. Learn more