Description
Partially hydrolyzed guar gum, 250 grams in the tub, 41 servings of 6 grams, which comes to about 71 cents a serving and 11.6 cents a gram. Guar gum in its native state is a thick gel former used to stiffen ice cream. Partially hydrolyzed guar gum has been cut down enzymatically to a much lower molecular weight, so it dissolves clear in water with no grit, no gel and no sliminess.
The numbers on the tub
| Ingredient | partially hydrolyzed guar gum, single ingredient |
|---|---|
| Plant | Cyamopsis tetragonoloba, the guar bean |
| Serving | 6 g, about 41 servings per tub |
| Net weight | 250 g |
| Viscosity | low, by enzymatic hydrolysis of the galactomannan |
| Cost | about 71 cents a serving, 11.6 cents a gram |
| Texture in water | clear, no thickening, no detectable taste |
Why the hydrolysis step is the product
Native guar gum, before it becomes partially hydrolyzed guar gum, is a galactomannan of very high molecular weight, which is exactly what makes it useful in food manufacturing and unpleasant to drink. Controlled enzymatic hydrolysis chops the chains into shorter fragments. The fibre is still soluble fibre and still fermentable, but it no longer thickens a glass of water into a gel.
That single processing difference is why this ingredient is common in Japanese and Australian pharmacies and almost absent from American shelves, where psyllium and inulin dominate. Both of those are on the gut health page with their own gram figures, and the three behave quite differently in a glass.
Partially hydrolyzed guar gum against psyllium and inulin
Psyllium husk forms a mucilage within a minute and has to be drunk immediately. Inulin is a fructan and is the most likely of the three to produce gas, which is the usual complaint about prebiotic fibres. Partially hydrolyzed guar gum is reported in the literature as the better tolerated of the group at comparable gram amounts. None of those statements is a claim about this tub, they are descriptions of the published comparisons.
What the studies used
Clinical work on this fibre has generally administered 5 to 11 grams a day over four to twelve weeks, with endpoints including stool frequency and Bristol scale consistency ratings, bloating and symptom questionnaires, and in some protocols short chain fatty acid measurements. A 6 gram serving sits inside that range. That is a description of the doses and instruments used in the literature rather than a statement about what this product does.
Starting amount, and why it matters with any fibre
Going from a low fibre intake to 6 grams of a fermentable fibre in one step is how people decide fibre disagrees with them. Half a serving for several days is the ordinary approach, and our note on what starting low actually means covers the general principle. Drink it with enough water, as with every fibre.
Where the six gram serving comes from
It is the middle of the studied range rather than a scoop chosen to suit the tub. Clinical protocols used 5 grams at the low end and 11 at the high end, so six is an amount that can be doubled without leaving the literature behind. A 250 gram tub of partially hydrolyzed guar gum holds 41 of them, which is about six weeks at one a day. Serving size and servings per container are printed together for that reason.
What it does not do
It will not thicken a smoothie, bulk a recipe or replace the structural job native guar gum does in food manufacturing. If you want a fibre you can feel in the glass, psyllium is the one to buy. The entire point of this material is that you cannot tell it is there.
Testing
Every lot of partially hydrolyzed guar gum is identity tested and assayed for fibre content by an independent laboratory, with heavy metals, pesticides and microbials screened alongside, since this is a milled and enzyme treated bean product. Under specification lots are withdrawn and the failing certificate stays public. For general reference material on dietary supplements the NIH fact sheet library is free, and your lot certificate is linked above.
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