Indigestible dextrin and sugar tolerance in rats and people
What it found
Indigestible dextrin lowered insulin release after sugar intake in both rats and healthy men.
It also slowed the movement of sugar from table sugar across rat gut tissue in lab tests.
What they found
Studies in people
Insulin and gut hormones in people
Five healthy men took a 75g sugar drink with or without 30g of the fiber. The fiber led to lower insulin levels and lower gut glucagon levels after the drink. Blood sugar levels were about the same in both cases.
Animal and lab studies
Sucrase enzyme activity
In lab tests using rat gut cells, indigestible dextrin slightly raised sucrase activity. Other fibers like pectin strongly blocked this enzyme.
Sugar transport in gut
In rat intestine pieces in lab dishes, the fiber did not change how free glucose moved across the tissue. It did slow down the movement of glucose that came from breaking down table sugar.
Glucagon release in lab
Total glucagon released into the fluid around rat intestine pieces dropped by about 37% with glucose and 36% with table sugar when the fiber was added.
Blood sugar and insulin in rats
When rats were given table sugar plus 0.6g per kg body weight of the fiber, rises in both blood sugar and insulin were smaller than with sugar alone. With pure glucose, only insulin was lower.
What the authors conclude
- They suggest that indigestible dextrin lowers insulin release by slowing down how the gut takes in sugar from table sugar.
- Their results point to the fiber blocking a specific transport route linked to sugar-digesting enzymes.
- They call for more work to find the best ways to use this effect.
How it was done
Thick, sticky fibers like pectin are known to lower blood sugar and insulin after eating sugar. The authors wanted to see if a thin, low-stickiness fiber made from potato starch could do the same thing.
They tested indigestible dextrin on pieces of rat intestine in lab dishes. They then gave sugar drinks with or without 0.6g per kg body weight of the fiber to rats, and 30g of it to five healthy men during a standard sugar test.
What it can’t tell you
- The lab tests used pieces of rat intestine, so they cannot show exactly what happens inside a living human gut.
- Only five men took part in the human test, so the results might not apply to everyone.
- The study looked at single sugar drinks, not long-term daily use.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Research Institute, Hyogo
The paper
- Title
- [The effects of indigestible dextrin on sugar tolerance: I. Studies on digestion-absorption and sugar tolerance]
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Wakabayashi S (1992). [The effects of indigestible dextrin on sugar tolerance: I. Studies on digestion-absorption and sugar tolerance]. Nihon Naibunpi Gakkai zasshi. doi:10.1507/endocrine1927.68.6_623Free full textPubMed 1321740DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error