Isomalto-oligosaccharide

Studies in people

• No harm found

  Blood sugar response³

  In people, isomalto-oligosaccharide caused no difference in blood sugar or gut tolerance compared with a control sweetener.

• Benefit

  Bowel habits in older adults⁴

  In constipated older people, isomalto-oligosaccharide increased how often they pooped and stool weight, but this faded after stopping it.

• Benefit

  Blood sugar during exercise⁵

  In men, a food bar with isomalto-oligosaccharides kept blood sugar steadier and muscles less sore after hard workouts.

Animal and lab studies only

• Benefit

  Memory and brain health⁷

  In animal studies, isomalto-oligosaccharide with fasting helped protect memory in mice fed a junk-food diet.

• Benefit

  Gut inflammation and cholesterol⁸

  In animal studies, isomalto-oligosaccharide with xylo-oligosaccharides eased gut inflammation and improved cholesterol, but it is not known if this works in people.

• Benefit

  Gut bacteria types⁹

  In animal studies, isomalto-oligosaccharide helped keep a certain gut bacteria type going.

• Benefit

  Constipation relief¹⁰

  In animal studies, isomalto-oligosaccharide made constipated rats poop more often and softened their stool.

How it’s made and used

• Taste of a prebiotic drink⁶

  In taste tests, people rated juice drinks made with isomalto-oligosaccharides about as acceptable as plain orange juice.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least two findings in people. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.