Role of PHGG as a dietary fiber: a review article.

Summary of evidence PHGG is a very well-known compound: it has been studied in both animals and hu-mans as summarized in Table I.Its safety is established and some clinical uses are, in many ways, still at an explora-tory stage. Concerning the modulation of metbolism in human, very little has been done to date and the studies have been ori-ented, for the most part, on the functional diseases: PHGG has been proved to be ef-fective in treating both IBS-C and IBS-D symptoms, not only in adults but also in children; data on constipation are relative-ly scarce, what can be deduced from the Literature is that the high concentration of fiber (galactomannans) gives the PHGG the possibility of being used effectively in ac-ceptable dosages (up to 22 g/die) even in situations such as chronic constipation.The use in clinical nutrition has revealed the flexibility of the compound which, ow- t able i.— PHGG studies in humans. Reference Trial Population Design and treatment Primary end-pointDigestion 2008;78:24-9.