Polydextrose in infant formula tested in piglets
What it found
In newborn piglets fed formula with polydextrose for 18 days, growth, blood tests, organs and behaviour were no different from piglets fed formula without it.
The authors say it caused no adverse effects at the highest level tested.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Growth and intake
Growth rate and how much formula the piglets took in did not differ between the formula-fed groups.
Stool and behaviour
Stool consistency and behaviour scores were no different among the formula-fed piglets.
Blood and organs
Blood chemistry, blood cell counts, and organ weights as a share of body weight did not differ among the formula-fed pigs.
Tissue and pancreas
The structure of the liver, kidney and pancreas, and the pancreas chemistry, were the same across the formula-fed groups.
Highest dose tested
Polydextrose acted like other prebiotic carbohydrates and had no adverse effect at the highest level tested, 17.0 g per litre. That is equivalent to 8.35 g per kg of body weight per day.
What the authors conclude
“Polydextrose mimicked other prebiotic carbohydrates and had no adverse effect at the highest tested level 17.0 g PDX/L, equivalent to a dose of 8.35 g/kg of body weight per day.”
Also in their conclusions
- They report that polydextrose had no adverse effect at the highest tested level of 17.0 g PDX/L, equivalent to a dose of 8.35 g/kg of body weight per day.
- They state that polydextrose mimicked other prebiotic carbohydrates.
How it was done
Human milk contains oligosaccharides that are almost absent from cow's milk and most infant formula. Polydextrose has been suggested as a substitute for these human milk oligosaccharides, so its safety as a new infant formula ingredient needed testing.
One-day-old pigs were fed a cow's milk-based formula with polydextrose at 1.7, 4.3, 8.5 or 17 g/L for 18 days, with 13 pigs per dose. They were compared with 13 pigs given formula without polydextrose, plus day 0 pigs and sow-reared pigs, 13 in each group.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This was a study in piglets, so it cannot show what happens in human infants.
- It tested one ingredient over 18 days, so it cannot show effects of longer use.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- North Carolina State University, USA
The paper
- Title
- Safety evaluation of polydextrose in infant formula using a suckling piglet model
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Herfel TM, Jacobi SK, Lin X, Walker DC, Jouni ZE, Odle J (2009). Safety evaluation of polydextrose in infant formula using a suckling piglet model. Food and chemical toxicology. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2009.03.039PubMed 19358872DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error