Acacia Fiber

Q: Does acacia fiber help constipation?

In adults with IBS-C, 10 g a day for 4 weeks increased stool frequency compared with placebo, but stool consistency and quality of life did not change. A 2026 review of fibre trials in functional bowel disorders also lists acacia fibre as improving stool frequency.

Q: Can acacia fiber help with weight loss?

Evidence is weak. Sudanese trials of 30 g a day reported small drops in BMI and body fat, but mostly as changes within the acacia group rather than clear differences from placebo.

Q: Does acacia fiber cause gas?

Usually mild. In a meal study 40 g caused more bloating and flatulence than 20 g, and at 30 g a day side effects were reported only in the first week.

Q: Is it safe to take acacia fiber every day?

Trials of 10 to 50 g a day lasted up to 3 months; at 30 g a day, bloating, nausea and mild diarrhoea were reported only in the first week. Health Canada says to ask a practitioner before using more than 10 g a day beyond 12 weeks, and to mix each dose into at least 250 mL of liquid.

Q: How long does acacia fiber take to work?

In the IBS trial, stool frequency was better than placebo at the 4-week mark, the only time it was compared. In a dose-finding study, beneficial stool bacteria were higher after 4 weeks at about 10 g a day.

Q: Is acacia fiber the same as gum arabic?

Yes. Health Canada lists acacia, acacia gum and gum arabic as names for the gum of Senegalia senegal (Acacia senegal) and Vachellia seyal (Acacia seyal).

Q: Is acacia better than psyllium?

Not for faecal incontinence: in a 189-person trial only psyllium reduced episodes; gum arabic did not differ significantly from placebo.

Q: How much acacia fiber was studied?

10 g a day in IBS, 20 to 30 g a day in metabolic trials. Health Canada's prebiotic range is 10 to 20 g a day.

Also called acacia gum, gum arabic, gum acacia, Acacia senegal, Senegalia senegal, Acacia seyal.

Best grade C across 9 graded outcomes Other Last checked Oct 21, 2026

We earn a commission if you buy through links on this page. It never changes our grades or rankings. How we make money →

The short answer

From 15 sources

Acacia fiber is a gentle soluble fibre from acacia tree gum. In 180 adults with constipation-type IBS, 10 g a day raised stool frequency over 4 weeks. Sudanese and Emirati trials of 20 to 30 g a day reported lower weight and blood pressure, but most of those results compare people with their own baseline.

Quick pick

From a partner brand · paid link

NOW Foods Acacia Fiber Organic Powder, 12 oz

from HerbsPro

Label: 1 level tablespoon (about 6.5 g): 6.5 g organic acacia gum (Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal), 6 g soluble fibre.

Best for trying one bottle: $11.38 one-time (checked Oct 15, 2026).

Shop at HerbsPro

Partner links may earn us a commission. How partner links work

Every graded outcome on this page

9 rows · line = participants

Grade CStool frequency and symptoms in IBS with constipationConstipation (IBS-C)n 180
Grade CBMI and body fat in healthy womenWeightn 120
Grade CLDL and total cholesterolCholesteroln 110
Grade CVisceral adiposity and blood pressure in type 2 diabetesWeightn 91
Grade CBlood pressure, fasting glucose and gut symptoms in adults at risk of metabolic syndromeBlood pressuren 80
Grade CFullness and blood glucose after breakfastSatietyn 48
Grade DUrea, creatinine and phosphorus in people on haemodialysisKidney diseasen 46
Grade DBlood urea in chronic kidney failureKidney diseasen 16
No effectFaecal incontinence episodesFaecal incontinencen 189

Key facts

What it is: Dried gum of Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal; about 80% fibre¹
IBS with constipation: 10 g/day for 4 weeks raised stool frequency vs placebo (P < 0.001) in a 180-person trial; no change in stool consistency or quality of life²
Weight and blood pressure: 20 to 30 g/day for 6 to 12 weeks lowered BMI, body fat or blood pressure in three trials, mostly as within-group changes^3,4,5
Breadth of research: A 2023 systematic review collected 29 clinical trials of gum arabic, covering kidney, metabolic, gum-disease, sickle cell and gut conditions¹⁴
Health Canada: Accepts 10 to 20 g/day as a prebiotic and 2.5 to 20 g/day as a fibre source; above 10 g/day, ask a practitioner before using beyond 12 weeks¹
Funding: The IBS and satiety trials were part-funded by Nexira, an acacia gum maker; the Sudanese and Emirati trials name no funder^2,6

What it is

Acacia fiber (gum arabic) is the dried gum of Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal trees, a non-viscous soluble fibre sold as a powder.

How it works

Established

Acacia gum is not digested in the small intestine and is fermented by colonic bacteria; Health Canada lists it as a prebiotic that helps stimulate the growth of healthy bacteria at 10 to 20 g a day. In a 4-week dose-finding study of 5 to 40 g a day, bifidobacteria and lactobacilli in stool rose most at about 10 g. Because it is not viscous, it does not form the gel that psyllium forms in stool.^1,12,7

Forms

Form

The form on this page
Form	Elemental %	Absorption (human data)	GI tolerance	Studied for
Acacia gum powder	Varies¹Not applicable (fibre; Health Canada notes acacia is about 80% fibre)	Not absorbed; fermented in the colon.¹	Low gut-symptom scores at 20 g in a meal test; 40 g caused more bloating and flatulence. At 30 g/day, side effects were reported only in the first week.^4,6	IBS with constipation, weight, blood pressure and satiety (10 to 40 g)

What the human research says

Human trials only, one row per outcome. The form line shows what each trial actually tested. Grades follow our evidence-grading policy.

Trial map

9 graded outcomes, largest study first

9 graded outcomes: 6 improved, 1 mixed, 2 no effect. The largest, a 2014 randomized trial of 189 people on faecal incontinence episodes, found no effect.

By sizeTable

1Faecal incontinence episodes

No effect · No-effect grade · RCT, 189 people, 2014

Community-living adults with loose or liquid faecal incontinence (four arms)

Dose, result and source

Every graded outcome on this page, largest study first
Outcome	Found	People	Study	Who was studied
Faecal incontinence episodes	No effect	189	No-effect grade · RCT, 2014	Community-living adults with loose or liquid faecal incontinence (four arms)
Stool frequency and symptoms in IBS with constipation	Improved	180	Grade C · RCT, 2024	Adults meeting Rome IV criteria for IBS with constipation (three arms: acacia, probiotic, placebo)
BMI and body fat in healthy women	Improved	120	Grade C · RCT, 2012	Healthy adult women (Khartoum, Sudan)
LDL and total cholesterol	No effect	110	Grade C · RCT, 1998	Adults with high LDL cholesterol on an American Heart Association Step I diet
Visceral adiposity and blood pressure in type 2 diabetes	Improved	91	Grade C · RCT, 2018	Adults with type 2 diabetes on glucose-lowering drugs (Sudan; 73 women, 18 men)
Blood pressure, fasting glucose and gut symptoms in adults at risk of metabolic syndrome	Improved	80	Grade C · RCT, 2021	Adults with or at risk of metabolic syndrome (United Arab Emirates); 61 completed
Fullness and blood glucose after breakfast	Mixed	48	Grade C · Crossover RCT, 2021	Healthy adults (University of Minnesota)
Urea, creatinine and phosphorus in people on haemodialysis	Improved	46	Grade D · RCT, 2008	People with chronic renal failure on regular haemodialysis (Sudan; 36 patients) and 10 healthy volunteers
Blood urea in chronic kidney failure	Improved	16	Grade D · Crossover RCT, 1996	People with chronic renal failure on a low-protein diet

Every graded row

9 rows

Form tested

Showing 9 of 9 outcomes. Human trials only.

Grade CStool frequency and symptoms in IBS with constipationConstipation (IBS-C)More frequent stools vs placeboRCT
n 180 · 2024

Improved Stool frequency improved compared with placebo (P < 0.001). Constipation symptoms showed only a trend (PAC-SYM, P = 0.10). No significant change in stool consistency, stool mass or quality of life.

Design: RCT, n = 180, 2024
Population: Adults meeting Rome IV criteria for IBS with constipation (three arms: acacia, probiotic, placebo)
Form: Acacia fibre powder
Dose: 10 g/day (placebo: 10 g maltodextrin)
Duration: 4 weeks
Source: Reference 2 · PubMed 38653808 (opens PubMed)

Grade CBMI and body fat in healthy womenWeightSmall drop in BMI and body fat (pre vs post)RCT
n 120 · 2012

Improved Within the gum arabic group, BMI fell by 0.32 (95% CI 0.17 to 0.47) and body fat by 2.18 percentage points (95% CI 1.54 to 2.83). First-week side effects: viscous feeling in the mouth, early morning nausea, mild diarrhoea and bloating.

Design: RCT, n = 120, 2012
Population: Healthy adult women (Khartoum, Sudan)
Form: Gum arabic (Acacia senegal)
Dose: 30 g/day (placebo: 1 g pectin)
Duration: 6 weeks
Source: Reference 4 · PubMed 23241359 (opens PubMed)

Grade CLDL and total cholesterolCholesterolNo effectRCT
n 110 · 1998

No effect No differences between groups in blood lipids; total cholesterol and triglycerides rose in all groups, which the authors link to the apple juice used to deliver the fibre.

Design: RCT, n = 110, 1998
Population: Adults with high LDL cholesterol on an American Heart Association Step I diet
Form: Gum arabic and pectin (4:1) in apple juice
Dose: 5, 9 or 15 g/day of the fibre mix
Duration: 12 weeks
Source: Reference 11 · PubMed 9808644 (opens PubMed)

Grade CVisceral adiposity and blood pressure in type 2 diabetesWeightLower BMI, visceral adiposity index and systolic pressureRCT
n 91 · 2018

Improved BMI fell 2% and visceral adiposity index 23.7% in the gum arabic group; systolic blood pressure fell 7.6% vs 2.7% with placebo. No significant change in waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio or diastolic pressure.

Design: RCT, n = 91, 2018
Population: Adults with type 2 diabetes on glucose-lowering drugs (Sudan; 73 women, 18 men)
Form: Gum arabic (Acacia senegal)
Dose: 30 g/day (placebo: 5 g)
Duration: 3 months
Source: Reference 5 · PubMed 29558953 (opens PubMed)

Grade CBlood pressure, fasting glucose and gut symptoms in adults at risk of metabolic syndromeBlood pressureLower blood pressure and fasting glucose in the acacia groupRCT
n 80 · 2021

Improved The gum arabic group showed significant decreases in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fat-free mass, energy and carbohydrate intake and fasting glucose, and reported less bloating and better bowel movements.

Design: RCT, n = 80, 2021
Population: Adults with or at risk of metabolic syndrome (United Arab Emirates); 61 completed
Form: Gum arabic (Acacia senegal) powder
Dose: 20 g/day (placebo: 1 g pectin)
Duration: 12 weeks
Source: Reference 3 · PubMed 33435475 (opens PubMed)

Grade CFullness and blood glucose after breakfastSatietyMore fullness at 40 g; no change in overall glucose responseCrossover RCT
n 48 · 2021

Mixed With 40 g, people reported less hunger and more fullness at 15 and 240 minutes. Glucose area under the curve did not differ; glucose at 30 minutes was lower with 20 g. 40 g caused more bloating, flatulence and rumbling, though scores stayed low.

Design: Crossover RCT, n = 48, 2021
Population: Healthy adults (University of Minnesota)
Form: Acacia gum stirred into orange juice with a bagel breakfast
Dose: Single dose of 20 g or 40 g
Duration: One test meal per dose
Source: Reference 6 · PubMed 33672963 (opens PubMed)

Grade DUrea, creatinine and phosphorus in people on haemodialysisKidney diseaseImprovedRCT
n 46 · 2008

Improved Serum urea fell 31.2% and 44.18% in the two gum arabic patient groups compared with baseline and with the control group, and creatinine fell about 10–13%; uric acid and phosphorus fell compared with baseline.

Design: RCT, n = 46, 2008
Population: People with chronic renal failure on regular haemodialysis (Sudan; 36 patients) and 10 healthy volunteers
Form: Gum arabic (Acacia senegal)
Dose: 50 g/day
Duration: 3 months
Source: Reference 10 · PubMed 17999333 (opens PubMed)

Grade DBlood urea in chronic kidney failureKidney diseaseImprovedCrossover RCT
n 16 · 1996

Improved Faecal bacterial mass and faecal nitrogen rose and serum urea nitrogen fell with gum arabic compared with the baseline diet or pectin; nitrogen balance did not change.

Design: Crossover RCT, n = 16, 1996
Population: People with chronic renal failure on a low-protein diet
Form: Gum arabic
Dose: 50 g/day (placebo: 1 g pectin)
Duration: Not given in the abstract
Source: Reference 9 · PubMed 8602598 (opens PubMed)

No effectFaecal incontinence episodesFaecal incontinenceNot better than placebo; psyllium wasRCT
n 189 · 2014

No effect Only psyllium significantly reduced incontinence frequency. Estimated episodes per week: 5.5 placebo, 4.3 gum arabic, 2.5 psyllium, 6.2 carboxymethylcellulose.

Design: RCT, n = 189, 2014
Population: Community-living adults with loose or liquid faecal incontinence (four arms)
Form: Gum arabic, compared with psyllium, carboxymethylcellulose and placebo
Dose: 16 g total fibre/day
Duration: 32 days
Source: Reference 7 · PubMed 25155992 (opens PubMed)

What the numbers add up to

Each point is worked out from the data and the sources numbered on this page, with the arithmetic shown under it. It adds no new data and is not medical advice.

Before-and-after, not head-to-head

The weight and blood-pressure results from Sudan and the UAE are mostly changes within the acacia group, not clear wins over placebo.^3,4,5

Gentle on the gut at moderate doses

Gut-symptom scores stayed low at 20 g in one meal; 40 g brought more bloating and flatulence.⁶

Studied doses

Doses used in research, shown against the official limits. They describe the studies, not a recommendation for you.

Studied doses in research, not advice. These are amounts used in research, not personal advice. Your clinician or pharmacist can say what fits you.

Doses studied in human trials

Doses studied in human trials ranged from 5 g to 50 g of acacia gum a day for 4 weeks to 3 months: 10 g/day in IBS with constipation, 20 to 30 g/day in weight and blood-pressure trials and 50 g/day in kidney-failure trials. Single test meals used 20 to 40 g.^{2,3,4,5,6,9,10,12}

When trials measured an effect

3 outcomes

How long trials ran before effects were measured
Outcome	Measured at	Basis
Stool frequency (IBS with constipation)	Week 4 (end of treatment)	One 180-person placebo-controlled trial²
Bifidobacteria and lactobacilli in stool	Week 4 (stool tested at weeks 1, 2 and 4)	One dose-finding study against water and inulin¹²
Blood urea in kidney failure	Month 3 (blood tested twice a month)	One small randomised study without a placebo¹⁰

Interactions and safety

Published interactions only: each row cites a source. No row means none was found in our sources, not that a combination is safe.

What Acacia Fiber meets

2 cited rows

Medicines 1

Acacia Fiber1 medicine · 1 supplement

Supplements and foods 1

Drug label or FDA notice
Measured in a human study

Interactions

2 agents

Published interactions, grouped by kind
Agent	What the source says	Evidence
Medicines1
Other medicines and supplements (timing)	Health Canada's prebiotics monograph directs that acacia products be used a few hours before or after other medications or health products.¹	Drug label
Other supplements1
Iron supplements	No effect found: in 30 iron-depleted women, 15 g acacia gum taken with a 100 mg iron (ferrous fumarate) tablet did not change iron absorption, whereas GOS and FOS raised it by about half.¹³	PK study

Check with what you take

Kept on this device only

Add what you take. We list every interaction our evidence profiles cite between Acacia Fiber and your picks, and between your picks.

Add a supplement or medicine

Most cited:

Add a supplement or medicine you take to check it against Acacia Fiber.

Starting from one medicine? The interaction checker rates how serious each pair is, on a curated list of 19 entries for 11 medicines. This cabinet has no severity rating: it lists every interaction row our supplement pages cite.

Who should be careful

4 groups

Long-term high doses: Health Canada: for products providing more than 10 g acacia a day, ask a health care practitioner before using beyond 12 weeks.¹
Fluids: Health Canada directs that acacia powder be mixed into at least 250 mL of liquid and that adequate fluid intake be maintained.¹
Pregnancy, breastfeeding and children: The Health Canada monograph covers adults 18 and older; NCCIH notes that many supplements have not been tested in pregnant women, nursing mothers or children.^1,8
Diabetes medicines: NCCIH advises telling your health care providers about any supplement you use; in the diabetes trial, participants kept taking their glucose-lowering drugs.^5,8

How to read the label

What to check on the Supplement Facts panel.

How to read the label

2 checks

Grams, not scoops

Health Canada's prebiotic range is 10 to 20 g of acacia a day; the IBS trial used 10 g.^1,2

Acacia vs psyllium

Acacia is non-viscous; in a faecal incontinence trial only psyllium, which forms a gel in stool, cut episodes.⁷

Have the bottle? Photograph its Supplement Facts panel and see each line, acacia fiber included, beside the doses and forms the trials used in Label X-Ray.

Where to buy Acacia Fiber

Products from brands we partner with that contain Acacia Fiber. Check the amount per serving against the doses studied above, and the label for other ingredients.

Acacia Fiber products from partner brands

1 product Paid links · we earn a commission

Quick pickHerbsProNOW Foods Acacia Fiber Organic Powder, 12 oz
1 level tablespoon (about 6.5 g): 6.5 g organic acacia gum (Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal), 6 g soluble fibre
$11.38one-timeChecked Oct 15, 2026
Shop at HerbsPro (paid link, opens in new tab)

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to common questions; the numbers link to the sources below.

Common questions

8 answers

Does acacia fiber help constipation?

In adults with IBS-C, 10 g a day for 4 weeks increased stool frequency compared with placebo, but stool consistency and quality of life did not change. A 2026 review of fibre trials in functional bowel disorders also lists acacia fibre as improving stool frequency.^2,15

Can acacia fiber help with weight loss?

Evidence is weak. Sudanese trials of 30 g a day reported small drops in BMI and body fat, but mostly as changes within the acacia group rather than clear differences from placebo.^4,5

Does acacia fiber cause gas?

Usually mild. In a meal study 40 g caused more bloating and flatulence than 20 g, and at 30 g a day side effects were reported only in the first week.^4,6

Is it safe to take acacia fiber every day?

Trials of 10 to 50 g a day lasted up to 3 months; at 30 g a day, bloating, nausea and mild diarrhoea were reported only in the first week. Health Canada says to ask a practitioner before using more than 10 g a day beyond 12 weeks, and to mix each dose into at least 250 mL of liquid.^1,4,10

How long does acacia fiber take to work?

In the IBS trial, stool frequency was better than placebo at the 4-week mark, the only time it was compared. In a dose-finding study, beneficial stool bacteria were higher after 4 weeks at about 10 g a day.^2,12

Is acacia fiber the same as gum arabic?

Yes. Health Canada lists acacia, acacia gum and gum arabic as names for the gum of Senegalia senegal (Acacia senegal) and Vachellia seyal (Acacia seyal).¹

Is acacia better than psyllium?

Not for faecal incontinence: in a 189-person trial only psyllium reduced episodes; gum arabic did not differ significantly from placebo.⁷

How much acacia fiber was studied?

10 g a day in IBS, 20 to 30 g a day in metabolic trials. Health Canada's prebiotic range is 10 to 20 g a day.^1,2,3,5

Sources

15 sources: trial abstracts, NIH fact sheets and reference databases. Numbers in the text link here.

Sources cited on this page

15 sources

1Prebiotics (Natural Health Product monograph, April 24, 2026)Guideline Health Canada, Natural and Non-prescription Health Products Directorate, 2026 · webprod.hc-sc.gc.ca
2Acacia fiber or probiotic supplements to relieve gastrointestinal complaints in patients with constipation-predominant IBS: a 4-week randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled intervention trial.RCT Eur J Nutr, 2024 · PMID 38653808
3The Effect of Gum Arabic (Acacia Senegal) on Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Adults at Risk of Metabolic Syndrome: A Randomized Clinical Trial.RCT Nutrients, 2021 · PMID 33435475
4Effects of Gum Arabic ingestion on body mass index and body fat percentage in healthy adult females: two-arm randomized, placebo controlled, double-blind trial.RCT Nutr J, 2012 · PMID 23241359
5Effect of Gum Arabic (Acacia Senegal) supplementation on visceral adiposity index (VAI) and blood pressure in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus as indicators of cardiovascular disease (CVD): a randomized and placebo-controlled clinical trial.RCT Lipids Health Dis, 2018 · PMID 29558953
6Acacia Gum Is Well Tolerated While Increasing Satiety and Lowering Peak Blood Glucose Response in Healthy Human Subjects.Crossover RCT Nutrients, 2021 · PMID 33672963
7Dietary fiber supplementation for fecal incontinence: a randomized clinical trial.RCT Res Nurs Health, 2014 · PMID 25155992
8Using Dietary Supplements WiselyFact sheet National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), 2019 · nccih.nih.gov
9Supplementation with gum arabic fiber increases fecal nitrogen excretion and lowers serum urea nitrogen concentration in chronic renal failure patients consuming a low-protein diet.Crossover RCT Am J Clin Nutr, 1996 · PMID 8602598
10The effects of gum arabic oral treatment on the metabolic profile of chronic renal failure patients under regular haemodialysis in Central Sudan.RCT Nat Prod Res, 2008 · PMID 17999333
11A low-viscosity soluble-fiber fruit juice supplement fails to lower cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic men and women.RCT J Nutr, 1998 · PMID 9808644
12Gum arabic establishes prebiotic functionality in healthy human volunteers in a dose-dependent manner.RCT Br J Nutr, 2008 · PMID 18466655
13Prebiotic Galacto-Oligosaccharides and Fructo-Oligosaccharides, but Not Acacia Gum, Increase Iron Absorption from a Single High-Dose Ferrous Fumarate Supplement in Iron-Depleted Women.Crossover RCT J Nutr, 2022 · PMID 35015879
14The Efficacy of Gum Arabic in Managing Diseases: A Systematic Review of Evidence-Based Clinical Trials.Systematic review Biomolecules, 2023 · PMID 36671523
15Fibre manipulation to manage symptom severity and quality of life in patients with functional bowel disorders: A systematic review.Systematic review Clin Nutr ESPEN, 2026 · PMID 41525871

What changed

Every dated change to this page: what changed, who made it and why.

Change log

2 entries

Dated changes to this page
Date	Change	Who and why
Oct 21, 2026key facts; mechanism; evidence; studied doses; time to effect; interactions; FAQ; questions; related	Added evidence rows for kidney failure (1996, 2008) and cholesterol (1998, null), a 4-week prebiotic dose-finding study to the mechanism, the 2023 and 2026 systematic reviews, an iron-absorption study (no effect) as an interaction, time-to-effect rows, FAQ on timing and daily use, and questions this page answers. Studied doses now 5–50 g/day. A 2004 amoxicillin study (PMID 15269196) is a letter with no abstract, so it was left out; LactMed and LiverTox have no acacia or gum arabic entry (offline NCBI archive searched; NBK501786 and NBK501846 are the Ginger and Turmeric LactMed records, which only mention acacia).	Writer: Kymata Health EditorialTrigger: A–Z audit against docs/supplements/AUDIT-STANDARD.md
Oct 15, 2026all	Initial editorial evidence review. Every PMID checked against NCBI E-utilities esummary (title, year, journal; none retracted) and each cited abstract read; numbers taken from the abstracts. Funding: Nexira (acacia maker) co-funded the IBS-C and satiety trials, the incontinence trial was NIH-funded, the Sudanese and Emirati trials name no funder. Safety from Health Canada's Prebiotics monograph (2026-04-24) and NCCIH's Using Dietary Supplements Wisely. Where to buy: NOW Foods Acacia Fiber (label checked 2026-10-15).	Writer: Kymata Health EditorialTrigger: new page

Supplement & Nutrient Encyclopedia. Educational information only; it is not medical advice and does not replace a clinician. Dietary supplements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Statements about supplements have not been evaluated by the FDA.

Acacia Fiber

NOW Foods Acacia Fiber Organic Powder, 12 oz

Medicines 1

Supplements and foods 1

Other medicines and supplements (timing)

IronIron page