ID 758 - Guma arabska

PL: Guma arabska
EN: Acacia gum (gum arabic)
Pdf: acacia gum

Oświadczenie (2)

1. Charakterystyka żywności / składnika

The food constituent that is the subject of the health claim is acacia gum (gum Arabic).
Acacia gum is a water-soluble type of fibre made of hardened sap taken from two species of the acacia tree: Acacia senegal (L.) Willd. and Acacia seyal Delile. Acacia gum is a complex mixture of polysaccharides and glycoproteins, namely branched galactan composed of a backbone of D-galactose units and side chains of D-glucuronic acid with terminal L-rhamnose or L-arabinose units. Acacia gum is non-digestible in the human small intestine. The molecular weight of acacia gum is between 200 and 600 kDa. Acacia gum does not occur naturally in foods, and is used primarily in the food industry as a stabiliser (E414).
The Panel considers that the food constituent, acacia gum, which is the subject of the health claims, is sufficiently characterised.

2.1. Zmniejszenie ilości potencjalnie patogennych mikroorganizmów przewodu pokarmowego (ID 758)

The claimed effect is “prebiotic action: increase in beneficial bacteria in the colon”. The Panel assumes that the target population is the general population.
The Panel assumes that the claimed effect refers to increasing numbers of bacteria which are considered to be “beneficial”.
The numbers/proportions of bacterial groups which would constitute a “beneficial” colon/intestinal flora have not been established. Increasing the number of any group of microorganisms, including lactobacilli and/or bifidobacteria, is not in itself considered to be a beneficial physiological effect. The Panel considers that the evidence provided does not establish that increasing numbers of gastro- intestinal microorganisms is a beneficial physiological effect.
The Panel considers that the claimed effect, in the context of decreasing potentially pathogenic gastro- intestinal microorganisms, might be a beneficial physiological effect.

3.1. Zmniejszenie ilości potencjalnie patogennych mikroorganizmów przewodu pokarmowego (ID 758)

The vast majority of the references provided for the scientific substantiation of this claim were narrative reviews, and human, animal and in vitro studies, on acacia gum and effects other than decreasing potentially pathogenic gastro-intestinal microorganisms. These included references on the fermentation of acacia gum by colonic bacteria, on the biological activity of two different acacia gums, on the digestive tolerance of acacia gum and on the digestive adaptation to acacia gum intake, as well as references on the effect of acacia gum on gastro-intestinal microbiota which did not address pathogens. The Panel considers that no conclusions can be drawn from these references for the scientific substantiation of the claimed effect.
In a randomised, double-blind study (Calame et al., 2008), healthy volunteers (n=54) consumed between 5 and 40 g per day of acacia gum dissolved in water or water as a control for four weeks. No significant differences in the numbers of Clostridium difficile during the intervention were noted between the test and the control group.
Two in vitro studies addressed the effect of acacia gum on the growth of clostridia and Clostridium difficile, and on the production of Clostridium difficile toxin A (May et al., 1994; Michel et al., 1998). The Panel considers that evidence provided in in vitro studies is not sufficient to predict the occurrence of an effect of acacia gum consumption on decreasing potentially pathogenic gastro- intestinal microorganisms in humans.
The Panel notes that the only human intervention study provided from which conclusions could be drawn for the substantiation of the claimed effect did not show an effect of acacia gum on decreasing potentially pathogenic gastro-intestinal microorganisms.
The Panel concludes that a cause and effect relationship has not been established between the consumption of acacia gum and decreasing potentially pathogenic gastro-intestinal microorganisms.

Warunki i możliwe ograniczenia stosowania oświadczenia

6g/day