Arabinoxylan
- Scientific Name
- Arabinoxylan
- Family
- Other Common Names
-
Arabinoxilano, Arabinoxylane, Pentosan
Overview
Arabinoxylan is a dietary fiber found in the cell wall of cereal grains, including wheat, corn, rice, rye, oat, and barley. The structure of arabinoxylan consists of a xylose backbone with arabinose side chains (25665). It can be isolated from the byproducts of wheat-flour processing (25665).
History
Arabinoxylans have been developed for use as edible coatings and films to be used as a potential alternative to food packaging (25663).
People Use This For
Orally, arabinoxylan is used for cardiovascular disease (CVD), constipation, diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance (prediabetes), metabolic syndrome, and obesity.
Possibly Safe when used orally and appropriately, short-term. Arabinoxylan 15 grams daily, either as part of the diet or as a supplement, has been used with apparent safety for up to 6 weeks (25666, 25668, 25669, 99677, 99679).
PREGNANCY AND LACTATION: Insufficient reliable information available; avoid using.
Preliminary clinical research shows that consuming food containing approximately 15 grams of arabinoxylan daily for 5 weeks lowers fasting and postprandial glucose, postprandial insulin, and serum fructosamine concentrations when compared with placebo in patients with type 2 diabetes (25666).
Preliminary clinical research shows that consuming foods supplemented with arabinoxylan 15 grams daily for 6 weeks reduces serum concentrations of glucose and triglycerides after a liquid meal challenge test when compared with placebo in patients with impaired glucose tolerance (25668, 25669). Some evidence shows that taking this dose of arabinoxylan also decreases postprandial insulin levels (25668). However, conflicting evidence exists (25669). Also, arabinoxylan does not appear to affect fasting adipokine concentrations in patients with impaired glucose tolerance (25669).
A small clinical study in adults with metabolic syndrome shows that consuming a diet containing arabinoxylan 16 grams and resistant starch 21 grams daily for 4 weeks does not affect postprandial levels of lipids, glucose, or insulin when compared with a diet containing refined carbohydrates. However, a sub-analysis of patients who were also taking statins found that consuming the arabinoxylan diet reduced total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol when compared with consuming a refined carbohydrate diet. This effect was not seen in patients who were not taking statins. The reason for these differing outcomes is unclear (99679).
More evidence is needed to rate arabinoxylan for these uses.
Adult
Oral:
Diabetes: Food supplemented with arabinoxylan 15 grams has been taken daily for 5 weeks (25666).
Impaired glucose tolerance (prediabetes): Food supplemented with arabinoxylan 15 grams has been taken daily for 6 weeks (25668, 25669).
Standardization & Formulation
Arabinoxylan is most commonly prepared by enzymatic extraction from wheat bran or rye (99672, 99677). One specific wheat bran extract (WBE, Brana Vita, 200) is standardized to contain 79% arabinoxylan oligosaccharides (99676, 99677).
ANTIDIABETES DRUGS
- Interaction Rating
- Moderate Be cautious with this combination.
- Severity
- MODERATE
- Occurrence
- POSSIBLE
- Level of Evidence
- B (Lower quality RCT)
Evidence from human research suggests that an arabinoxylan-rich fiber can reduce postprandial glucose levels (25665, 25666, 25668, 25669). Theoretically, arabinoxylan might have additive effects with antidiabetes drugs and increase the risk of hypoglycemia. Monitor blood glucose levels closely. Dose adjustments might be necessary. Some antidiabetes drugs include glimepiride (Amaryl), glyburide (DiaBeta, Glynase PresTab, Micronase), insulin, pioglitazone (Actos), rosiglitazone (Avandia), and others.
HERBS AND SUPPLEMENTS WITH HYPOGLYCEMIC POTENTIAL
Evidence from human research suggests that an arabinoxylan-rich fiber can reduce postprandial glucose levels (25665, 25666, 25668, 25669). Theoretically, arabinoxylan might have additive effects when used with herbs and supplements with hypoglycemic potential. Monitor blood glucose levels closely. Some herbs and supplements with hypoglycemic potential include devil's claw, fenugreek, guar gum, Panax ginseng, Siberian ginseng, and others.
SURGERY
Arabinoxylan might lower blood glucose levels (25665, 25666, 25668, 25669). Theoretically, arabinoxylan might interfere with blood glucose control during and after surgical procedures. Tell patients to discontinue using medicinal amounts of arabinoxylan at least 2 weeks before elective surgical procedures..
None known.
There is insufficient reliable information available about the toxicology of arabinoxylan.
There is insufficient reliable information available about the pharmacokinetics of arabinoxylan.
General
Arabinoxylan is a dietary fiber that is found in wheat, corn, rice, rye, oat, and barley. It is most commonly prepared by enzymatic extraction from wheat bran or rye (99672, 99677). The structure of arabinoxylan consists of a xylose backbone with arabinose side chains (25665).
Gastrointestinal effects
Arabinoxylan has been evaluated for its effects on overall gut health and the composition of the gut microbiota, with mixed findings. Clinical research in children and adults shows that consuming arabinoxylan 5-10 grams daily for 3 weeks has a prebiotic effect, resulting in an increased intestinal concentration of bifidobacteria (99672, 99674, 99676, 99677, 105749). Arabinoxylan also decreases colonic protein fermentation and increases the intestinal concentration of short-chain fatty acids in most studies (99672, 99674, 99676, 99677), although not all research agrees (105749). Other clinical research shows that short-term, 2-day supplementation with arabinoxylan 9.4 grams twice daily increases colonic carbohydrate fermentation (99680). Another clinical study in healthy adults with slow gut transit times but without constipation shows that taking a specific powder of arabinoxylan oligosaccharide (AXOS, Cargill) 5 grams three times daily with meals for 12 weeks significantly alters the composition of gut microbiota, resulting in a reduction in microbial alpha-diversity and an increase in levels of bifidobacteria. However, this product did not improve gut transit times, gastric emptying times, or stool parameters aside from softer stool consistency when compared with placebo (105749).
Preliminary clinical research in older adults shows that taking a specific arabinoxylan extract from wheat endosperm (Naxus, Bioactor BV) 12 grams daily for 6 weeks does not strengthen the intestinal barrier against indomethacin-induced hyperpermeability when compared with placebo. Most of the adults enrolled in this study were found to have insufficient fiber intake at baseline (105750).
Hypoglycemic effects
Clinical research suggests that arabinoxylan reduces postprandial glucose levels in healthy volunteers and adults with metabolic syndrome (25665, 25666, 25668, 25669, 99673, 99675). Additional clinical research shows that consuming arabinoxylan in the evening can reduce postprandial glucose levels during breakfast the next morning (99674).This effect has been attributed to the ability of arabinoxylan to slow gastric emptying and reduce small intestinal motility, resulting in delayed glucose absorption (25665, 25666, 25668). However, other research shows that taking arabinoxylan 9.4 grams twice daily for 2 days does not affect gastric transit time (99680).
Hypolipidemic effects
Clinical research suggests that arabinoxylan can lower serum triglycerides and apolipoprotein A-1 (25668, 25669). Animal research shows that supplementation with finger millet arabinoxylan improves serum lipid levels, reduces hepatic lipid accumulation, and reduces weight gain in obese mice eating a high fat diet (99678).
Weight loss
There is interest in using arabinoxylan to reduce appetite and increase satiety. However, clinical research in healthy volunteers shows that taking arabinoxylan 9.4 grams twice daily for 2 days does not improve satiety, gastric transit time, gastric sensitivity, or gastric accommodation (99680).
Classes
Fibers (Isolated Dietary Fibers)References
See Monograph ReferencesLiterature Review Current Through: 7/18/2025, Last Updated: 12/12/2025
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