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Effects of gum Arabic ingestion on body mass index and body fat percentage in
healthy adult females: two-arm randomized, placebo controlled, double-blind
trial
Nutrition Journal 2012, 11:111 doi:10.1186/1475-2891-11-111
Rasha Babiker (rashat33@yahoo.com)
Tarig H Merghani (tarighm@gmail.com)
Khalifa Elmusharaf (khalifa_elmusharaf@yahoo.com)
Rehab M Badi (rehabadi@hotmail.com)
Florian Lang (florian.lang@uni-tuebingen.de)
Amal M Saeed (amalsaeed@yahoo.com)
ISSN 1475-2891
Article type Research
Submission date 18 July 2012
Acceptance date 8 December 2012
Publication date 15 December 2012
Article URL http://www.nutritionj.com/content/11/1/111
This peer-reviewed article can be downloaded, printed and distributed freely for any purposes (see
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© 2012 Babiker et al.
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which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Effects of gum Arabic ingestion on body mass index
and body fat percentage in healthy adult females:
two-arm randomized, placebo controlled, double-
blind trial
Rasha Babiker
1*
*
Corresponding author
Email: rashat33@yahoo.com
Tarig H Merghani
2
Email: tarighm@gmail.com
Khalifa Elmusharaf
3
Email: khalifa_elmusharaf@yahoo.com
Rehab M Badi
4
Email: rehabadi@hotmail.com
Florian Lang
5
Email: florian.lang@uni-tuebingen.de
Amal M Saeed
4
Email: amalsaeed@yahoo.com
1
Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medical Sciences
& Technology, P.O Box. 12810, Khartoum, Sudan
2
Department of physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tabouk, P.O box
102, Khartoum, Sudan
3
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine, Royal College of
Surgeons in Ireland, P.O Box 15503, Adliya, Manama, Bahrain
4
Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, P.O
Box 102, Khartoum, Sudan
5
Department of Physiology, Eberhard-Karls, University of Tuebingen,
Tuebingen, Germany
Abstract
Background
Gum Arabic (acacia Senegal) is a complex polysaccharide indigestible to both humans and
animals. It has been considered as a safe dietary fiber by the United States, Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) since the 1970s. Although its effects were extensively studied in
animals, there is paucity of data regarding its quantified use in humans. This study was
conducted to determine effects of regular Gum Arabic (GA) ingestion on body mass index
and body fat percentage among healthy adult females.
Methods
A two-arm randomized, placebo controlled, double-blind trial was conducted in the
Department of Physiology at the Khartoum University. A total of 120 healthy females
completed the study. They were divided to two groups: A test group of 60 volunteers
receiving GA (30 gm /day) for 6 weeks and a placebo group of 60 volunteers receiving pectin
(1 gm/day) for the same period of time. Weight and height were measured before and after
intervention using standardized height and weight scales. Skin fold thickness was measured
using Harpenden Skin fold caliper. Fat percentage was calculated using Jackson and Pollock
7 caliper method and Siri equation.
Results
Pre and post analysis among the study group showed significant reduction in BMI by 0.32
(95%CI: 0.17 to 0.47; P<0.0001) and body fat percentage by 2.18% (95%CI: 1.54 to 2.83;
P<0.0001) following regular intake of 30 gm /day Gum Arabic for six weeks. Side effects
caused by GA ingestion were experienced only in the first week. They included unfavorable
viscous sensation in the mouth, early morning nausea, mild diarrhea and bloating abdomen.
Conclusions
GA ingestion causes significant reduction in BMI and body fat percentage among healthy
adult females. The effect could be exploited in the treatment of obesity.
Keywords
Gum Arabic, Obesity, BMI, Body fat percentage
Introduction
Gum Arabic (GA) is derived from exudates of Acacia senegal or Acacia seyal trees. It
consists of a mixture of polysaccharides (major component) plus oligosaccharides and
glycoproteins [1,2]; however, its composition can vary with its source, climate and soil.
Sudan is the world′s largest producer, followed by many other African countries. It readily
dissolves in water to form solutions characterized by low viscosity. This allows its use in
various applications [3]. It is used as an emulsifier, thickening agent and flavor stabilizer in
both the pharmaceutical and food industries. It is also used in textile, pottery and cosmetics
industries. The FAO/WHO Joint Expert Committee for Food Additives defined it as a dried
exudation obtained from the stems of A. Senegal or closely related species of Acacia [4].
Gum Arabic was evaluated for acceptable daily intake for man by the Joint FAO/WHO
Expert Committee on Food Additives since 1969 [5]; however, Sudanese people in Western
Sudan had been using it for long time without limitations. It is indigestible to both humans
and animals, not degraded in the intestine, but fermented in the colon to give short-chain fatty
acids, leading to a large range of possible health benefits [6]. One of these benefits is its
prebiotic effect [7,8]. It has been claimed that four week supplementation with Gum Arabic
(10 g/day) led to significant increases in Bifidobacteria, Lactobacteria, and Bacteriodes
indicating a prebiotic effect [8]. Other effects include reduction in plasma cholesterol level in
animals and humans [9], anticarcinogenic effect [10] and anti-oxidant effect [11,12] with a
protective role against hepatic and cardiac toxicities. In addition to that, it has been claimed
that Gum Arabic alleviates effects of chronic renal failure in humans; however, further
studies are needed for confirmation [13-15].
Several epidemiological studies suggest that a high intake of dietary fiber, including GA, is
associated with beneficial effects on fat metabolism [14,16]. Dietary fiber promotes satiation
and satiety, alter glycaemic index, affects gastric emptying, gut hormone secretion and thus
helps to manage weight [17]. Leptin promotes weight loss by two different mechanisms. It
reduces appetite, and thus food intake, and at the same time increases energy expenditure also
dietary fiber was inversely associated with leptin level in young Japanese adults [18,19]. In
addition to that, a study has shown that GA inhibits intestinal glucose absorption via
interaction with membrane abundance of SGLT1 in mice [20].GA significantly blunted the
increase in body weight, fasting plasma glucose and fasting insulin concentrations during
high fat diet.
Obesity is a well known risk factor for coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes and many
other abnormalities, including cancer [21,22]. These complications depend not only on
absolute amount of fat but also on its distribution. Absolute total body fat and adipose tissue
distribution are known to be associated with cardiometabolic risk in adult females [23]. At
least in theory, Gum Arabic can serve to reduce obesity and therefore prevent associated
complications in humans. The aim of this study is to determine the effects of Gum Arabic
ingestion on weight, body mass index and body fat percentage among healthy adult females
in randomized, placebo controlled and double-blind study.
Methods
This is a two-arm randomized, placebo controlled, double-blind study comparing an
intervention group receiving 30 gm of GA daily for 6 weeks with a control group receiving a
placebo for the same period of time. The study was conducted at the Department of
Physiology, Faculty of Medicine at the University of Khartoum during the period from April
to July 2011. All participants were female students from the University. Inclusion criteria
were age 17 years or above and healthy with no symptoms or signs of acute or chronic
medical illness. Exclusion criteria were age less than 17 years, past or present history of
metabolic, gastrointestinal, degenerative and/or inflammatory diseases, smoking, drug abuse
or alcohol consumption, use of corticosteroids or any other drug that affects body weight, and
history of Gum Arabic (GA) allergy. Participants were asked to take habitually daily diet and
to avoid exercise during the period of the study.
To detect a reduction in body weight of 2 kilograms (SD 4 kilograms), with a two-sided 5%
significance level and a power of 80%, a sample size of 60 subjects per group was calculated
based on normogram for comparison of means in two equal sized groups [24]. Random
allocation was achieved by generating series of numbers by independent third-party not
associated with the study. Sealed boxes were prepared containing supplements package of
either intervention (Gum Arabic) or placebo (pectin). After the randomization sequence
generated the boxes containing the supplements was given to the blinded investigator
responsible for enrollment. Follow up assessments were undertaken by the chief investigator
who was also blinded to the randomization.
Eligible participants were 120 students. They were all enrolled and randomly allocated into
either intervention (n= 60) or placebo (n= 60) group by the blinded investigator (Figure 1).
Each participant was supplemented with a daily dose of either Gum Arabic or a placebo. The
dose of Gum Arabic was 30 g of 100% natural gum provided in a powder form by ″Dar
Savanna Ltd. Khartoum, Sudan″. Its quality was consistent to the requirements of Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and British pharmacopoeia (BP). The
dose was divided in 5 sachets each containing 6 grams, consumed in two divided doses; early
morning dose of 3 sachets (18 gram) and evening dose of 2 sachets (12 gram) four hours after
meal. The dose of placebo was 1 g of pectin given in two divided doses in the same way.
Each dose was reconstituted in 250 ml of water and shaken well to ensure adequate mixing
before intake.
Figure 1 Follow of participants throughout the intervention
Weight was measured by using digital physician′s scale to the nearest 0.1 kg. Height was
measured by using calibrated physician′s scale to the nearest 1 cm. BMI was calculated by
the standard formula: weight (kg) / height (m)
2
.
Skin-fold thickness was measured using a harpenden Skin fold caliper. It was measured at 7
different anatomical sites (chest, axilla, triceps, subscapular, abdomen, suprailium, and thigh
skin folds (mm). Three sets of measurements were averaged for each site. The following
Jackson- Pollock formula was used to calculate body density (BD) [25]. BD = 1.11200000 −
0.00043499(X) + 0.00000055(X) (X) − 0.00028826(A) (where X = Sum of chest, axilla,
triceps, subscapular, abdomen, suprailium, and thigh skin folds in millimeters and A = age in
years). Then the Siri equation was used for calculation of body fat percentage from body
density (% Fat = [(4.95/BD) − 4.5]100 [26].
Institutional review board approved this study. Appropriate written consents were obtained
from each student before enrollment in the study. All data were collected prospectively by the
researchers at the department. Double data entry and cross validation were employed to
ensure validity and quality of data. Data were analysed using STATA-10 program. The
paired t test was used for analysis of pre and post-intervention data. The independent sample t
test was used for comparison between the intervention and control groups. A p-value of less
than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results
Characteristics of the participants are shown in (Table 1). Pre and post analysis among the
study group showed weight difference % of 1.24 from 72.25 kg to 71.43 kg ± 1.94 (mean ±
SD) within the study group and minor increase of weight from 68 kg to 68.19 kg ± 1.35
(mean ± SD) (Table 2). A significant reduction in BMI (Figure 2) by 0.32 from (mean ± SD)
27.31 ± 5.4 to 26.99 ± 5.54 (95% CI: 0.17 to 0.47; P<0.0001) and body fat percentage (Figure
3) by 2.18% (95% CI: 1.54 to 283; P<0.0001) following regular intake of 30 gm /day Gum
Arabic for six weeks (Table 3). Ingestion of the placebo caused significant increase in the
percentage of body fat from (mean ± SD) 18.31 ± 4.14 to 19.13 ± 4.06 (95% CI: -1.44 to
−0.20; p = 0.010) and tended to increase BMI from (mean ± SD) 25.78 ± 3.85 to 25.85 ± 3.80
(95% CI: -0.16 to 0.02; p = 0.132), an effect, however, not reaching statistical significance
(Table 3). Side effects caused by GA ingestion were experienced only in the first week. They
included unfavorable viscous sensation in the mouth, early morning nausea, mild diarrhea
and bloating abdomen (Table 4).
Table 1 Characteristics of cases in the study and control groups
Parameter
Minimum
Maximum
Mean
SD
P value
Age (years) Study group 17 31 19.37 1.97 0.670
Control group 18 35 19.53 2.25
Height (m) Study group 1.50 1.85 1.63 0.064 0.620
Control group 1.53 1.73 1.62 0.057
Weight (kg) Study group 54.30 121.20 72.30 13.26 0.054
Control group 46.30 95.50 68.01 10.78
BMI (kg/ m
2
) Study group 17.53 51.10 27.31 5.42 0.076
Control group 17.22 34.66 25.78 3.85
Body fat % Study group 11.70 32.00 19.45 4.24 0.14
Control group 9.50 26.90 18.31 4.14
Table 2 The Percent changes on Body Weight among Study and Control groups
Weight (kg)
Mean
Mean difference%
95% Cl (LL,UL)
SD
(study group) Before 72.25 1.24 - 0.70, 3.18 1.94
After 71.43
(control group) Before 68.00
-
0.31
-
1.66, 1.04 1.35
After 68.19
Figure 2 Reduction in BMI among study and control group
Figure 3 Reduction in fat % among study and control groups
Table 3 Body Mass Index and Body Fat Percent changes among Study and Controls
Parameter
Min
Max
Mean
SD
Mean Difference
P value
BMI (study group) Before 17.53 51.10 27.31 5.42 −0.32 0.0001
After 17.36 53.04 26.99 5.54
BMI (control group) Before 17.22 34.66 25.78 3.85 0.07 0.132
After 17.40 34.62 25.85 3.80
Fat % (study group) Before 11.70 32.00 19.45 4.24 −2.18 0.000
After 9.49 30.50 17.26 4.28
Fat % (control group) Before 9.50 26.90 18.31 4.14 0.82 0.010
After 10.53 25.90 19.13 4.06
Table 4 Side effects of intervention among study and controls
Study group (n=60)
Control group (n=60)
P value
n
%
n
%
Nausea Yes
49 81.7% 0 0.0% 0.000
No 11 18.3% 60 100.0%
Diarrhea Yes
54 90.0% 11 18.3% 0.000
No 6 10.0% 49 81.7%
Unfavourable oral viscous sensation
Yes
60 100.0% 0 0.0% 0.000
No 0 0.0% 60 100.0%
Bloating abdomen Yes
9 15.0% 0 0.0% 0.002
No 51 85.0% 60 100.0%
Discussion
The results showed that regular intake of 30 gm /day GA for six weeks resulted in significant
reduction in BMI and body fat percentage (P<0.0001) ,Changes in body weight were reported
to occur with many other fibers intake whether the fiber is obtained from naturally high-fiber
diet or when it is ingested in a form of a supplement [27].
The US Food and Drug Administration consider Gum Arabic (GA) as one of the safest
dietary fibres [28]. In this study 60 healthy female volunteers consumed GA without doubt as
many Sudanese used to ingest GA for both health benefits and nutritional purposes. Females
were selected as they are more concerned with aspects of their apperarance, particularly
weight [29]. The effects of GA on BMI and fat percentage were studied among these females.
Historically, GA has been used in traditional medicine for long period of time. Arabic
physicians treated a wide range of diseases with the gum, resulting in its current name [30]
Gum Arabic consumption seems to be an effective dietary strategy to prevent or treat
overweight with its several biological mechanisms [17], Obesity is a worldwide problem that
is associated with many complications. Even though regular exercise and dieting are effective
and non-invasive measures used for its treatment, compliance to these measures is limited
[29]. The role of dietary fibers in prevention and treatment of obesity has been studied in both
humans and animals [22,27,31]. Although Gum Arabic influence on energy intake and body
weight regulation remains controversial. A growing body of scientific evidence indicates that
GA ingestion causes significant reduction in caloric intake with an increased subjective
feeling of satiety [32].
Many studies suggested a strong positive correlation between blood leptin concentration,
BMI and intake of dietary fiber, On the other hand, serum leptin concentrations were not
related to dietary patterns in the US population [33] and no significant correlation was found
between leptin and dietary fiber [34].
In addition to these effects, dietary fibers including GA bind bile acids and diminish their
absorption in the terminal ileum [35]. Then in the large intestine, degradation of GA releases
the sequestered bile acids and the acidic pH generated during the fermentation process
renders them insoluble and promotes their excretion in stool [35]. This reduces their pool in
the body and causes decreased fat digestion and absorption. Similarly, the hepatic formation
of new bile acids requires cholesterol. Thus, prolonged ingestion of Gum Arabic may cause
weight loss and reduction in cholesterol level in plasma
In our study the effect reflected by a reduction in body weight by 1.24 % from 72.25 to 71.43
± 1.94 (mean ± SD) within the study group. A recent proposed mechanism by which viscous
dietary fibers were found to preserve lean body mass and reduce adiposity is increased
mitochondrial biogenesis and fatty acid oxidation by skeletal muscles [36]. Gum Arabic
mechanism is not yet fully elucidated, because of a small number of conducted studies. This
study highlights the effect of gum Arabic on BMI and fat %; it would be wise to conduct a
long-term studies, evaluating complete range of parameters with different groups and doses
to elucidate the mechanism of action of GA on reducing obesity and its prevention.
Previous studies have shown that a daily dose of 30 g of GA can be tolerated by most
subjects and the main complaint was excessive flatulence [37]. However, this complaint was
found to be mild, even at doses >50 g/day. In our study symptoms were only experienced in
the first week of supplementation and disappeared later. Unfavorable viscous sensation in the
mouth was the main complaint; however, addition of a flavor to GA solution, as practiced by
many of the volunteers, was found to be useful. Diarrhea which was reported by 90% of cases
could be the result of increased intestinal motility due to the increase in bulk of stool. It is
worth noting that previous studies described GA as a treatment rather than a cause of diarrhea
[38].
One of the limitations in our study is not measuring blood leptin concentration, due to
resource limitation .Another major limitation in this study is the high dose of GA ingested
daily by students in the group of cases compared with the low dose of the placebo taken by
the controls. However, our results do confirm that regular ingestion of GA causes significant
reduction of body mass index and body fat percentage among subjects. This effect can be
considered for treatment or prevention of obesity.
Conclusions
Gum Arabic ingestion causes significant reduction in BMI and body fat percentage among
healthy adult females. The effect could be exploited in the treatment of obesity.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Authors′ contributions
RB has made enrolment and random allocation of participant, acquisition of measurements
and data, followed the study and drafted the manuscript. THM participated in the sequence
alignment, coordination and helped to draft the manuscript. KE designed and revised the
methodology, statically analyzed the data and revised the manuscript. RMB generated the
Idea and participated in designing the protocol and follow up. FL has been involved in
revising it critically for important intellectual content, drafted and revised the manuscript.
AMS made contributions to conception and design, directed the study, drafted and revised
the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the participants and the Dar Savanna Ltd. Khartoum, Sudan
(www.ssgums.com).
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Analysis
Intention to tr eat analysis
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
