Resistant dextrin and blood sugar control in adults
What it found
In 13 randomized trials in people, resistant dextrin slightly lowered fasting blood sugar and improved insulin resistance, but had little effect on fasting insulin or HbA1c.
The authors rate the evidence as low to moderate certainty.
What they found
Studies in people
Fasting blood sugar
Resistant dextrin lowered fasting blood sugar by a small amount. The result was significant but there was a lot of variation between studies.
Insulin resistance
Resistant dextrin improved HOMA-IR, a measure of insulin resistance. The result was significant with little variation between studies.
HbA1c
Resistant dextrin modestly improved HbA1c, but the result was not statistically significant. In people with type 2 diabetes, the effect was larger and significant.
Fasting insulin
Resistant dextrin had no significant effect on fasting insulin levels. The result was stable but there was high variation between studies.
Who benefited more
People who were overweight or obese or had diabetes benefited more than those who were not. Women also showed a larger effect than mixed groups, but all the female-only studies were from Iran.
Dose and duration
A dose of 10 grams per day was the most common effective dose, and higher doses did not add more benefit. Interventions longer than 8 weeks had a stronger effect on fasting blood sugar.
What the authors conclude
“RD interventions can exert beneficial effects on FBG and HOMA-IR.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that resistant dextrin intake can exert beneficial effects on fasting blood sugar and insulin resistance, especially in people with diabetes or higher BMI.
- They state that further high-quality and long-term studies are needed to strengthen its credibility.
- They strongly recommend future clinical trials focusing on populations who urgently need glycemic control, and dedicated dose-finding studies to establish efficacy and safety thresholds.
How it was done
Chronic high blood sugar is a major public health problem, and resistant dextrin has been reported to improve insulin sensitivity and help control blood sugar. The authors wanted to systematically review the effect of resistant dextrin on blood sugar markers.
They searched multiple databases up to October 2024 for randomized controlled trials of resistant dextrin in adults aged 18 to 75. They included 13 trials with 952 participants, lasting 28 to 140 days, in people who were healthy, overweight, obese, or had conditions such as type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, polycystic ovary syndrome, or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
What it can’t tell you
- The evidence is graded as low to moderate certainty, so the true effect may be different.
- Most studies were short, lasting 28 to 140 days, so the long-term effects are unknown.
- Over a third of the studies came from one research group in Iran, which may limit how well the results apply to other populations.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by Ministry of Science and Technology, People's Republic of China; Department of Science & Technology of Shandong Province (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
- Authors work at
- Institute of Food & Nutrition Science and Technology, China; Bohai University, China
The paper
- Title
- Effects of resistant dextrin on glycemic traits: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
- Type
- Systematic review and meta-analysisThe authors follow a set, published method to find every relevant study, then combine the numbers from them into one result.
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Chen S, Zhang L, Zong A, et al (2026). Effects of resistant dextrin on glycemic traits: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Nutrition journal. doi:10.1186/s12937-026-01292-zFree full textPubMed 41787416DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error