Guar Gum and IBS

What 2 graded rows on guar gum agree on for IBS, and where they differ. Counted side by side, never averaged.

Consensus finder Rows from the Guar Gum page, reviewed Oct 21, 2026 How it decides

What the rows agree on

Each block and row is one graded row from the Guar Gum page, with its PubMed record.

Supplement

Guar Gum Choose another

2 rows · 296 people

Split. 1 row found an improvement and 1 had mixed results.

Mixed

Improved

Each block is one evidence row, sized by how many people it enrolled, with its grade inside. Outlined: mixed results.

From the rows

The best-graded row, grade C, is an open-label trial of 188 people (2002) and found an improvement.

The rows run from 108 to 188 people, published from 2002 to 2016: 2 single studies.

1 improved · 1 mixed

Grade CIBS pain and bowel habits versus wheat bran · Improved
Open-label trial · n 188 · 2002 · Adults with IBS of all bowel-habit types in Italy
5 g/day (compared with 30 g/day wheat bran) · 12 weeks
Both fibers improved pain and bowel habits per protocol, with no difference between them. By intention to treat, success was higher with PHGG (60% vs 40%), and more people switched from bran to PHGG (49.9%) than the other way round (10.9%).
Row on the Guar Gum page · PubMed 12184518 (opens PubMed)
Grade CIBS symptoms, mainly bloating · Mixed
RCT · n 108 · 2016 · Adults with irritable bowel syndrome in Israel
6 g/day · 12 weeks plus 4-week follow-up
Bloating (−4.1 vs −1.2, P=0.03) and bloating-plus-gas scores improved more than with placebo, and the effect lasted at least 4 weeks after stopping. IBS severity, quality of life and other symptoms did not differ. No significant side effects; more placebo patients dropped out (49% vs 22%).
Row on the Guar Gum page · PubMed 26855665 (opens PubMed)