Possible Interaction: Inulin and Psyllium

“Although the underlying mechanism is not completely clear and needs further investigation, the authors hypothesise that the increase in viscosity induced by psyllium delays the delivery of inulin to the colon and restricts mixing of the chyme, thereby impeding access of the colonic bacteria to the inulin.”

“Using MRI to quantify colonic gas, the authors elegantly showed that addition of psyllium to inulin reduces in vivo gas production induced by inulin in patients with IBS.”

“Breath hydrogen rose significantly from 120 min after inulin but not psyllium; coadministration of psyllium with inulin delayed and reduced the maximum increase, AUC(0–360 min) from 7230 (3255–17910) ppm·hour to 1035 (360–4320) ppm·hour, p=0.007.”

“Our aim was to test if coadministering psyllium with inulin would reduce gas production.”

“This was significantly reduced with inulin and psyllium coadministration to 618 (62–2345) mL·min (p=0.02), not significantly different from placebo.”