Arabinoxylan

Also called AX, wheat arabinoxylan, arabinoxylan-oligosaccharides, rice bran arabinoxylan compound (RBAC), Biobran / MGN-3 (brand).

Best grade B across 10 graded outcomes Other Last checked Oct 21, 2026

The short answer

From 13 sources

Arabinoxylan is the main fibre in cereal grains. Wheat arabinoxylan has an EU-approved claim for blunting the blood-sugar rise after a meal, and trials in diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance at about 15 g/day improved glucose measures. A separate product, rice bran arabinoxylan compound, has small immune and quality-of-life trials.

Every graded outcome on this page

10 rows · line = participants

Grade BBlood glucose and insulin after mealsBlood sugarn 46
Grade CFasting glucose, cholesterol and blood pressureBlood sugarn 1,140
Grade CSurvival as an add-on to cancer treatmentCancer survivaln 338
Grade CGut transit time and stool consistencyGut healthn 48
Grade CFasting and 2-hour glucose in type 2 diabetesBlood sugarn 15
Grade CGlucose and insulin response to breakfastBlood sugarn 14
Grade DInfluenza-like illness in older adultsColds and flun 80
Grade DQuality of life during cancer treatmentQuality of lifen 29
Grade DPost-meal glucose, insulin and ghrelin in impaired glucose toleranceBlood sugarn 11
Grade DFasting glucose, lipids and adipokines in impaired glucose toleranceBlood sugarn 11
7 more graded outcomes, in the evidence chapter

Key facts

EU health claim: Wheat-endosperm arabinoxylan reduces the post-meal glucose rise at 8 g of AX-rich fibre per 100 g available carbohydrate¹
Meal effect: 12 g in a breakfast cut the glucose response by 41% in healthy adults²
Type 2 diabetes: About 15 g/day for 5 weeks lowered fasting and 2-hour glucose³
Pooled evidence: 46 clinical studies: lower post-meal glucose and insulin; modest long-term fasting-glucose drop⁶
Gut: 15 g/day of wheat bran arabinoxylan-oligosaccharides for 12 weeks softened stools and raised Bifidobacterium, but did not speed gut transit¹¹
Rice bran compound: 500 mg/day for 3 months: fewer influenza-like illnesses in an 80-person pilot⁸

What it is

Arabinoxylan is a cereal fibre from wheat, rye and rice bran, sold as fibre powders and as rice-bran compounds.

How it works

Established

EFSA considers the mechanism by which wheat-endosperm arabinoxylan lowers post-meal glucose to be well established. Arabinoxylan is a fermentable fibre; extracted forms showed larger glycaemic effects than arabinoxylan naturally present in foods. Rice bran arabinoxylan compound is an enzymatically modified rice bran with proposed immunomodulatory effects.^1,6,10

Forms, side by side

2 forms named in our sources. The rest show what our data holds, and say plainly where it holds nothing yet.

Arabinoxylan forms compared

2 forms

Arabinoxylan forms compared: 2 forms by 3 attributes. Empty cells are labelled No data yet, or Not graded in the evidence row.
2 forms	Wheat arabinoxylan-rich fibre (powder or baked in foods)	Rice bran arabinoxylan compound (RBAC, Biobran/MGN-3)
Absorption in people	Acts in the gut as a fermentable fibre; not absorbed as such.¹	No human absorption data in the cited studies.⁸
GI tolerance	About 15 g/day raised faecal output by about 62 g/day; no other adverse effects were reported in the abstract.³	A meta-analysis of 5 RCTs found no harmful liver-enzyme effects; no side effects at 500 mg/day in older adults.^10,8
Studied for	Post-meal and fasting glucose, insulin	Immune markers, influenza-like illness, quality of life in cancer

Wheat arabinoxylan-rich fibre (powder or baked in foods)
Absorption in people
Acts in the gut as a fermentable fibre; not absorbed as such.¹
GI tolerance
About 15 g/day raised faecal output by about 62 g/day; no other adverse effects were reported in the abstract.³
Studied for
Post-meal and fasting glucose, insulin
Rice bran arabinoxylan compound (RBAC, Biobran/MGN-3)
Absorption in people
No human absorption data in the cited studies.⁸
GI tolerance
A meta-analysis of 5 RCTs found no harmful liver-enzyme effects; no side effects at 500 mg/day in older adults.^10,8
Studied for
Immune markers, influenza-like illness, quality of life in cancer

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

10 graded outcomes, largest study first

10 graded outcomes: 9 improved, 1 mixed. The largest, a 2025 meta-analysis of 1,140 people on fasting glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure, found an improvement.

By sizeTable

1Fasting glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure

Improved · Grade C · Meta-analysis, 1,140 people, 2025

30 RCTs (1,140 participants)

Dose, result and source

Every graded outcome on this page, largest study first
Outcome	Found	People	Study	Who was studied
Fasting glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure	Improved	1,140	Grade C · Meta-analysis, 2025	30 RCTs (1,140 participants)
Survival as an add-on to cancer treatment	Improved	338	Grade C · Meta-analysis, 2024	Three small randomized trials in people with cancer receiving or after conventional treatment (liver, head-and-neck and other advanced cancers)
Influenza-like illness in older adults	Improved	80	Grade D · RCT, 2021	Healthy adults over 55 (Egypt), during flu season
Gut transit time and stool consistency	Mixed	48	Grade C · RCT, 2020	Healthy adults with slow gut transit (whole-gut transit over 35 hours) but no constipation
Blood glucose and insulin after meals	Improved	46	Grade B · Meta-analysis, 2025	46 clinical studies (plus preclinical studies analysed separately)
Quality of life during cancer treatment	Improved	29	Grade D · Pilot RCT, 2026	Adults with stage II or higher solid tumours on systemic therapy
Fasting and 2-hour glucose in type 2 diabetes	Improved	15	Grade C · Crossover RCT, 2004	Adults with type 2 diabetes
Glucose and insulin response to breakfast	Improved	14	Grade C · Crossover RCT, 2000	Healthy adults
Post-meal glucose, insulin and ghrelin in impaired glucose tolerance	Improved	11	Grade D · Crossover RCT, 2007	Adults with impaired glucose tolerance
Fasting glucose, lipids and adipokines in impaired glucose tolerance	Improved	11	Grade D · Crossover RCT, 2006	Adults with impaired glucose tolerance

Every graded row

10 rows

Form tested

Showing 10 of 10 outcomes. Human trials only.

Grade BBlood glucose and insulin after mealsBlood sugarImprovedMeta-analysis · 46 studies
n 46 · 2025

Improved Arabinoxylan reduced glucose iAUC (SMD −0.41), insulin iAUC (SMD −0.28) and glucose and insulin peaks. Longer-term human benefit was limited to fasting glucose (MD −0.10 mmol/L); larger effects were seen in metabolically impaired people and with extracted arabinoxylan.

Design: Meta-analysis, 46 studies, n = 46, 2025
Population: 46 clinical studies (plus preclinical studies analysed separately)
Form: Arabinoxylan (extracted or intrinsic in foods)
Dose: Varied by study
Duration: Single meals to several weeks
Source: Reference 6 · PubMed 40944228 (opens PubMed)

Grade CFasting glucose, cholesterol and blood pressureBlood sugarImprovedMeta-analysis · 30 studies
n 1,140 · 2025

Improved Isolated arabinoxylans lowered fasting glucose (SMD −0.19) and total cholesterol (MD −0.14) and raised lymphocyte count; food-intrinsic arabinoxylans lowered fasting glucose and systolic blood pressure (−2.86 mmHg).

Design: Meta-analysis, 30 studies, n = 1,140, 2025
Population: 30 RCTs (1,140 participants)
Form: Intrinsic arabinoxylan in whole grains or isolated arabinoxylan(-oligosaccharides)
Dose: Varied by study
Duration: Varied by study
Source: Reference 7 · PubMed 40790673 (opens PubMed)

Grade CSurvival as an add-on to cancer treatmentCancer survivalSurvival OR 2.9–4.0Meta-analysis · 3 studies
n 338 · 2024

Improved Survival odds were higher with RBAC: OR 4.02 (95% CI 1.67–9.69) at up to 1 year (2 trials, 133 patients) and OR 2.89 (1.56–5.35) at 18–24 months per protocol (2 trials).

Design: Meta-analysis, 3 studies, n = 338, 2024
Population: Three small randomized trials in people with cancer receiving or after conventional treatment (liver, head-and-neck and other advanced cancers)
Form: Rice bran arabinoxylan compound (RBAC, Biobran/MGN-3) alongside standard care
Dose: 1 g/day in the liver-cancer trial; other doses not stated in the abstract
Duration: Survival followed for up to 2 years
Source: Reference 13 · PubMed 38745507 (opens PubMed)

Grade CGut transit time and stool consistencyGut healthSofter stools; transit unchangedRCT
n 48 · 2020

Mixed Whole-gut transit time, the primary outcome, did not change, but stools became softer and faecal Bifidobacterium rose. Energy expenditure, short-chain fatty acids, gut permeability and plasma metabolites did not change; GLP-1 was lower than with placebo.

Design: RCT, n = 48, 2020
Population: Healthy adults with slow gut transit (whole-gut transit over 35 hours) but no constipation
Form: Wheat bran arabinoxylan-oligosaccharides (AXOS) vs maltodextrin
Dose: 15 g/day
Duration: 12 weeks
Source: Reference 11 · PubMed 31983281 (opens PubMed)

Grade CFasting and 2-hour glucose in type 2 diabetesBlood sugarImprovedCrossover RCT
n 15 · 2004

Improved Fasting and 2-hour glucose, 2-hour insulin and fructosamine fell; blood lipids, weight, body fat and blood pressure did not change. Faecal output rose.

Design: Crossover RCT, n = 15, 2004
Population: Adults with type 2 diabetes
Form: Arabinoxylan-rich fibre in bread and muffins
Dose: About 15 g/day extra fibre
Duration: 5 weeks per period
Source: Reference 3 · PubMed 15042130 (opens PubMed)

Grade CGlucose and insulin response to breakfastBlood sugarImprovedCrossover RCT
n 14 · 2000

Improved Glucose iAUC fell 20.2% with 6 g and 41.4% with 12 g; insulin iAUC fell 17.0% and 32.7%.

Design: Crossover RCT, n = 14, 2000
Population: Healthy adults
Form: Arabinoxylan-rich wheat fibre baked into bread
Dose: 6 g or 12 g per meal
Duration: Single meals
Source: Reference 2 · PubMed 10799374 (opens PubMed)

Grade DInfluenza-like illness in older adultsColds and fluImprovedRCT
n 80 · 2021

Improved Influenza-like illness occurred in 5.0% vs 22.5% on placebo, and NK-cell activity rose (measured in 6 people per group). No side effects were observed.

Design: RCT, n = 80, 2021
Population: Healthy adults over 55 (Egypt), during flu season
Form: Rice bran arabinoxylan compound (Biobran/MGN-3)
Dose: 500 mg/day
Duration: 3 months
Source: Reference 8 · PubMed 34836388 (opens PubMed)

Grade DQuality of life during cancer treatmentQuality of lifeImprovedPilot RCT
n 29 · 2026

Improved Global quality-of-life scores were better than placebo (p = 0.031), with less fatigue, pain, breathlessness and appetite loss; no intervention-related adverse events.

Design: Pilot RCT, n = 29, 2026
Population: Adults with stage II or higher solid tumours on systemic therapy
Form: Rice bran arabinoxylan compound (RBAC)
Dose: 3 g/day
Duration: 24 weeks
Source: Reference 9 · PubMed 41771978 (opens PubMed)

Grade DPost-meal glucose, insulin and ghrelin in impaired glucose toleranceBlood sugarImprovedCrossover RCT
n 11 · 2007

Improved Post-meal glucose, insulin and triglycerides were lower, and total ghrelin fell; acylated ghrelin did not change.

Design: Crossover RCT, n = 11, 2007
Population: Adults with impaired glucose tolerance
Form: Arabinoxylan supplement
Dose: 15 g/day
Duration: 6 weeks per period
Source: Reference 4 · PubMed 16988651 (opens PubMed)

Grade DFasting glucose, lipids and adipokines in impaired glucose toleranceBlood sugarImprovedCrossover RCT
n 11 · 2006

Improved Fasting glucose, triglycerides and apolipoprotein A-1 were lower than with placebo; insulin, adiponectin, leptin and resistin did not change.

Design: Crossover RCT, n = 11, 2006
Population: Adults with impaired glucose tolerance
Form: Arabinoxylan in white bread rolls
Dose: 15 g/day
Duration: 6 weeks per period
Source: Reference 5 · PubMed 17111305 (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.

Meal effect is dose-dependent

Adding 6 g and 12 g of arabinoxylan fibre to a breakfast cut the glucose response by about 20% and 41%.²

Extracted beats intrinsic for glucose

A 2025 meta-analysis found larger glycaemic effects with extracted arabinoxylan than with arabinoxylan naturally in foods.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 500 mg/day to 3 g/day of rice bran arabinoxylan compound for 3–6 months, and about 15 g/day of wheat arabinoxylan fibre or arabinoxylan-oligosaccharides for 5–12 weeks; single-meal studies used 6–12 g per meal. The EU claim is set at 8 g of AX-rich fibre per 100 g of available carbohydrate in a meal. These are research doses, not recommendations.^{1,2,3,4,8,9,11}

When trials measured an effect

3 outcomes

How long trials ran before effects were measured
Outcome	Measured at	Basis
Post-meal blood sugar	Same meal (single-meal tests)	6 g or 12 g of arabinoxylan-rich fibre baked into a breakfast lowered the glucose response to that meal by 20.2% and 41.4%²
Fasting blood sugar	By 5 to 6 weeks (end of the trial periods)	Fasting glucose was lower at the end of 5-week (type 2 diabetes) and 6-week (impaired glucose tolerance) crossover periods; earlier time points are not reported in the abstracts^3,5
Gas and bloating at high doses	Settled after about 3 weeks	With 25–35 g/day of corn bran arabinoxylan, gut symptoms rose over the first three weeks versus cellulose and returned toward baseline by the end of the 6-week trial¹²

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.

Interactions

0 agents

None found in our sources.

Check with what you take

Kept on this device only

Add what you take. We list every interaction our evidence profiles cite between Arabinoxylan 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 Arabinoxylan.

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

5 groups

People on glucose-lowering medicines: Arabinoxylan lowered post-meal and fasting glucose in people with type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance; no interaction studies with diabetes medicines are cited here.^3,4
People with cancer: Rice bran arabinoxylan compound was studied only as an add-on during systemic cancer therapy in a 29-person pilot; it is not a substitute for treatment.⁹
Pregnancy, breastfeeding and children: No trial in our sources enrolled pregnant or breastfeeding women or children, and LactMed has no entry for arabinoxylan or rice bran arabinoxylan compound, so there are no safety data for these supplements in pregnancy or breastfeeding.^3,8,11
Liver: A 2023 meta-analysis of 5 randomized trials (239 people) found no harmful effect of rice bran arabinoxylan compound on liver enzymes; AST was slightly lower with the powder form (−3.52 U/L) or with 3 months or more of use (−3.71 U/L). LiverTox has no entry for arabinoxylan.¹⁰
Gas and bloating: At high fibre doses (25–35 g/day of corn bran arabinoxylan), flatulence, bloating and stomach aches rose during the first three weeks and then settled.¹²

Regulatory status

2 notes

An approved EU glucose claim for the wheat form.

European Union: EFSA concluded that a cause-and-effect relationship is established between wheat-endosperm arabinoxylan and reduced post-meal glycaemic responses, for people who wish to reduce them.¹
Liver safety (rice bran compound): A dose-response meta-analysis of 5 RCTs (239 people) found no adverse liver-enzyme effects, and a small AST decrease with powder or 3+ months of use.¹⁰

How to read the label

What to check on the Supplement Facts panel.

How to read the label

2 checks

Two different products share the name

Wheat arabinoxylan fibre (grams per day, glucose claims) and rice bran arabinoxylan compound (hundreds of mg to 3 g per day, immune claims) are not interchangeable.^1,8

Label dose vs studied dose

The EU claim needs 8 g of AX-rich fibre (at least 60% AX) per 100 g of available carbohydrate in the meal; capsule doses of rice bran compound are far lower.^1,8

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

Frequently asked questions

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

Common questions

6 answers

Does arabinoxylan lower blood sugar?

Yes, modestly. Across 46 clinical studies it lowered the glucose and insulin rise after meals (glucose SMD −0.41), and longer use lowered fasting glucose by about 0.10 mmol/L. Wheat arabinoxylan also holds an EU-approved claim for reducing the post-meal glucose rise.^6,1

Does arabinoxylan help constipation or gut health?

In a 12-week trial of 48 adults with slow gut transit, 15 g/day of wheat bran arabinoxylan-oligosaccharides softened stools and raised Bifidobacterium, but did not speed transit time, the main outcome (grade C).¹¹

Does Biobran help people with cancer?

Only small add-on trials exist. A 29-person pilot found better quality of life with 3 g/day for 24 weeks, and a review pooling 2–3 small trials reported higher survival odds, but its authors rate their confidence as low. It is not a substitute for cancer treatment.^9,13

What are the side effects of arabinoxylan?

Mainly gut symptoms. At 25–35 g/day of corn bran arabinoxylan, gas, bloating and stomach aches rose in the first three weeks and then settled. A meta-analysis of 5 trials found no harmful liver effects from rice bran arabinoxylan compound.^12,10

Is Biobran the same as wheat arabinoxylan?

No. Biobran/MGN-3 is a rice bran arabinoxylan compound studied for immune outcomes, not the wheat fibre behind the glucose claim.^1,8

How much arabinoxylan was used in studies?

About 15 g/day of wheat arabinoxylan fibre, or 6–12 g in a single meal; rice bran compound at 500 mg–3 g/day.^2,3,8,9

Sources

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

Sources cited on this page

13 sources

1Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to arabinoxylan produced from wheat endosperm and reduction of post-prandial glycaemic responses (ID 830) pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006Guideline EFSA Journal (EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies), 2011 · efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
2Arabinoxylan fiber, a byproduct of wheat flour processing, reduces the postprandial glucose response in normoglycemic subjects.Crossover RCT Am J Clin Nutr, 2000 · PMID 10799374
3Arabinoxylan fibre improves metabolic control in people with Type II diabetes.Crossover RCT Eur J Clin Nutr, 2004 · PMID 15042130
4Arabinoxylan consumption decreases postprandial serum glucose, serum insulin and plasma total ghrelin response in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance.Crossover RCT Eur J Clin Nutr, 2007 · PMID 16988651
5Arabinoxylan fibre consumption improved glucose metabolism, but did not affect serum adipokines in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance.Crossover RCT Horm Metab Res, 2006 · PMID 17111305
6Impact of Arabinoxylan Consumption on Glycemic Control: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Preclinical and Clinical Studies.Meta-analysis Nutrients, 2025 · PMID 40944228
7The physiological effects of intrinsic and isolated arabinoxylans on human immunometabolic response: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Meta-analysis Food Res Int, 2025 · PMID 40790673
8Dietary Supplementation with Biobran/MGN-3 Increases Innate Resistance and Reduces the Incidence of Influenza-like Illnesses in Elderly Subjects: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Pilot Clinical Trial.RCT Nutrients, 2021 · PMID 34836388
9Effects of rice bran arabinoxylan compound on quality of life of cancer patients during active treatment: a randomised placebo-controlled pilot trial.Pilot RCT Sci Rep, 2026 · PMID 41771978
10Is there any hepatic impact associated with rice bran arabinoxylan compound supplementation? A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Meta-analysis Clin Nutr ESPEN, 2023 · PMID 37739721
11Effect of wheat bran derived prebiotic supplementation on gastrointestinal transit, gut microbiota, and metabolic health: a randomized controlled trial in healthy adults with a slow gut transit.RCT Gut Microbes, 2020 · PMID 31983281
12Adaptation to tolerate high doses of arabinoxylan is associated with fecal levels of Bifidobacterium longum.RCT Gut Microbes, 2024 · PMID 38860973
13Rice bran arabinoxylan compound as a natural product for cancer treatment - an evidence-based assessment of the effects and mechanisms.Meta-analysis Pharm Biol, 2024 · PMID 38745507

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, 2026evidence, key facts, time to effect, studied doses, who should avoid, FAQ, questions, related	Re-searched PubMed for arabinoxylan and rice bran arabinoxylan compound trials to 2026. Added a gut row from the 12-week AXOS trial in slow gut transit (PMID 31983281; transit unchanged, softer stools) and a supervised clinical-use row from the 2024 RBAC cancer review's survival meta-analysis (PMID 38745507; figures from PMC11097709, low confidence per its authors). Added time-to-effect rows and a gas-and-bloating note from the 2024 corn bran arabinoxylan tolerance trial (PMID 38860973), and a liver note from the 2023 RBAC liver-enzyme meta-analysis already cited. No LactMed or LiverTox entry exists (checked), noted in the pregnancy and liver lines. Interactions: none documented in LiverTox, LactMed, NCCIH or MedlinePlus (no entries), so the list stays empty; the glucose-lowering-medicine caution stays in who should avoid. Replaced the 'What is arabinoxylan?' FAQ (answered elsewhere on the page) with gut and cancer questions, added questions this page answers and goal-hub links.	Writer: Kymata Health EditorialTrigger: A–Z audit against docs/supplements/AUDIT-STANDARD.md
Oct 14, 2026all	Initial editorial evidence review (first draft). Every PMID checked against NCBI E-utilities esummary (titles and years taken from the record) and the abstract read for each cited row. Studied doses are reported as research doses, not dosing advice.	Writer: Kymata Health EditorialTrigger: new page

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