The physiologically active, gel-forming fraction of the alkali-extractable polysaccharides of Plantago ovata Forsk seed husk (psyllium seed) and some derived partial hydrolysis products were studied by compositional and methylation analysis and NMR spectroscopy. Resolving the conflicting claims of previous investigators, the material was found to be a neutral arabinoxylan (arabinose 22.6%, xylo...

OBJECTIVE Metamucil® is a fiber supplementation formed by 100% natural psyllium. This study, conducted in Italy, assessed the impact of quality of pharmacists' instruction to use this product on subjects' adherence to and overall satisfaction with this test product. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Open-label post-marketing study involving adult subjects who had purchased Metamucil® (follow-up: 14 ± 7 da...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Higher fibre intakes are associated with risk reduction for chronic diseases. However, many people find difficulty in consuming sufficient fibre through their diet. Supplements may be an effective alternative. We aimed to investigate the effects of PolyGlycopleX® (PGX®), a proprietary polysaccharide complex and a proprietary Psyllium product (PgxSyl™) (PSY) on diet, body w...

Studies were conducted to determine whether pectin (PE) or psyllium (PSY) could reverse the high plasma cholesterol and triacylglycerol (TAG) concentrations induced by high fat (HF) or high sucrose (HS) diets and which are the mechanisms involved. Male guinea pigs were fed either a low fat (LF) or a HF diet with 80% of the carbohydrate energy derived from sucrose. Cellulose was used as control....

Hairballs are a common problem in cats and may result in intestinal obstruction. Dietary fibre has been recommended to stimulate hair faecal excretion. The objective of this study was to assess the influence of psyllium and different levels of total dietary fibre (6% vs. 11% vs. 15% TdF) on hair faecal excretion in short and long-haired (LH) domestic cats. Twenty-one adult cats were divided int...