title: The dietary effects of gellan gum in humans.
abstract: Following a 7-day control period, five female and five male volunteers consumed a weight of gellan gum corresponding to 175 mg/kg body weight for 7 days, followed by 200 mg gellan gum per kg body weight for a further 16 days. Measurements before and at the end of the 23-day test period showed that the gellan gum acted as a faecal bulking agent for the male volunteers and for four of the females. Dietary transit time increased for 2 females and 2 males, and decreased for 3 females and 3 males. Faecal bile acid concentrations increased for 4 females and for 4 males; the average increases were from 0.69 to 0.83 mmol/24 h (females) and from 1.22 to 1.44 mmol/24 h (males). Gellan gum ingestion had no significant effect on (a) plasma biochemistry parameters; (b) haematological indices; (c) urinalysis parameters; (d) blood glucose and plasma insulin concentrations; (e) breath hydrogen concentrations. There were no significant changes in HDL cholesterol, triglyceride or phospholipid concentrations. Serum cholesterol concentrations decreased significantly (P less than 0.1) by 13% on average for females, and by 12%, on average, for males. The data indicate that the ingestion of gellan gum at a high level for 23 days caused no adverse dietary or physiological effects in any of the volunteers. In particular, the enzymatic and other indicators of adverse toxicological effects remained unchanged.
authors.affiliation: Chemistry Department, University, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: W G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Brydon
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Eastwood
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001647:Bile Acids and Salts / Q000032:analysis; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D005243:Feces; D005260:Female; D005772:Gastrointestinal Transit / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000097:blood; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D012016:Reference Values; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D001647:Bile Acids and Salts; D001786:Blood Glucose; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D007328:Insulin; D010743:Phospholipids; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial; D014280:Triglycerides; C048288:gellan gum; D002784:Cholesterol