Partially Hydrolyzed Guar Gum Accelerates Colonic Transit Time and Improves Symptoms in Adults with Chronic Constipation

Abstract

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.

Role of guar fiber in appetite control

“…Polymeros et al [64] 49 constipated patients CTT was measured during the administration of 5 g guar fiber per day for 4 weeks.…”

“…A detailed study is therefore warranted to confirm this effect under normal diet conditions in healthy subjects. It is interesting to note that while the above two studies suggest the increased CTT effect, an uncontrolled open label one arm study with administration of guar fiber (5 g/ day) consecutively for 4 weeks had decreased the CTT by about 12 h in constipated patients [64]. Considering all the studies together suggests that guar fiber may effectively modulate the CTT based on the bowel conditions between normal healthy subjects and those subjects that are constipated.…”

“…Several studies confirmed its many physiological benefits, which assigned the notion "invisible fiber with visible benefits" to it. Unlike other dietary fibers, which are commonly recommended for constipation, guar fiber was confirmed to have a true regulatory effect normalizing bowel conditions such as constipation, diarrhea and irritable bowel syndrome [54,60,64,70,76]. Guar fiber, largely composed of medium chain length oligomers, are fermented over a longer period of time [10,58] and provides a better prebiotic effects [65,83] with the production of high amounts of shortchain fatty acids [10,59,83] when compared to other soluble fibers.…”

DA‐9701 improves colonic transit time and symptoms in patients with functional constipation: A prospective study

“…Before and after the treatment period, patients were asked to complete a questionnaire that assigned a satisfaction score based on the severity of constipation symptoms over the previous 3 weeks. The questionnaire was similar to that used in previous studies and contained seven items: spontaneous bowel movements (SBM), bowel movements with straining, stool form, feeling of incomplete emptying of the bowels, feeling of anal blockage, abdominal discomfort and pain, and overall defecation satisfaction . The number of SBMs was divided into three groups (more than three times per week, one to three times per week, and less than once per week).…”

“…The questionnaire was similar to that used in previous studies and contained seven items: spontaneous bowel movements (SBM), bowel movements with straining, stool form, feeling of incomplete emptying of the bowels, feeling of anal blockage, abdominal discomfort and pain, and overall defecation satisfaction. 22,[32][33][34] The number of SBMs was divided into three groups (more than three times per week, one to three times per week, and less than once per week). Straining, a feeling of incomplete emptying of the bowels or of anorectal blockage, and abdominal discomfort and pain were evaluated on visual analog scales.…”