Benefits
Insulin sensitivity and fasting glucose markers over 8 to 12 weeks
In a 12-week trial in 120 overweight Chinese men, 17 g twice daily lowered fasting glucose, insulin, an insulin resistance score and HbA1c, and the report states most glucose measures were better than on maltodextrin. In 55 women with type 2 diabetes, 10 g a day for 8 weeks lowered fasting insulin and the insulin resistance score versus maltodextrin, but fasting glucose and HbA1c did not differ.
Blood sugar over 24 hours with 40 g a day
In 78 adults in Singapore with overweight or a family risk of diabetes, 20 g twice daily for 8 weeks improved 24-hour glucose under everyday conditions, most clearly after dinner. The control was a drink with 3 g of glucose, and the abstract gives no between-group figures. The study was single-blind and maker-funded.
Smaller glucose rise when it replaces sugars or starches
EFSA accepted that foods in which non-digestible carbohydrates such as this dextrin replace sugars or starches give a smaller blood sugar rise after eating than the original foods. This works by lowering the digestible carbohydrate. In a UK trial, drinks made with the fiber raised glucose less than the same drinks made with maltodextrin.
Fullness and hunger ratings between meals
In 100 overweight adults in China, 8 to 24 g a day for 3 weeks raised fullness ratings with dose and time and lowered hunger at 14 g and above. In a UK crossover trial, 14 g a day raised fasting fullness but lowered fullness after lunch and dinner, and food intake did not change.
Body weight and body fat over 12 weeks
In 120 overweight Chinese men, 17 g twice daily for 12 weeks gave 1.5 kg more weight loss and a 0.3 point larger fall in body fat percentage than maltodextrin, in a trial registered about three years after it ended, with weight not its listed primary outcome. A 4-week UK trial and a 5-week Dutch study found no significant difference in body measurements or weight versus control.
Feeds Parabacteroides and other colon bacteria
In 124 healthy men, 15 g a day for 4 weeks raised Parabacteroides from about 1.5% to 5.5% of gut bacteria versus placebo, the trial's main outcome, and 50 women showed a similar rise. Stool frequency, consistency and fatty acids did not change. These are shifts in gut bacteria, not proven health outcomes.
Mechanism of action
Resists digestion in the small intestine
The starch is converted into glucose chains with linkages that digestive enzymes break down poorly, so most of the fiber passes to the colon instead of being absorbed as sugar. EFSA notes that such non-digestible carbohydrates do not add to the post-meal glucose rise.
Fermented by colon bacteria
In the colon, bacteria ferment the fiber. In human studies, breath hydrogen rose, Bacteroides and Parabacteroides increased, Clostridium perfringens fell, and colonic biomass grew on MRI, with gas production rising at first and then falling as the gut adapted.
Lowers the digestible carbohydrate in a food
When the fiber replaces sugar or maltodextrin in a recipe, the food carries less carbohydrate that is absorbed as glucose. This is the basis of the EU post-meal glucose claim and the main reason for smaller glucose rises in direct comparisons with maltodextrin.
Clinical trials
Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled parallel trial of 17 g NUTRIOSE or maltodextrin in fruit juice twice daily for 12 weeks; registered after completion (NCT01044680) with Roquette as sponsor and determinants of metabolic syndrome as the primary outcome; Roquette's Guérin-Deremaux co-authored both reports, and a second paper (Guerin-Deremaux et al. 2011, Int J Food Sci Nutr) reported weight outcomes (Li et al. 2010, Appl Physiol Nutr Metab)
120 overweight Chinese men aged about 30 with a mean BMI of 24.5 in Shanghai.
Fasting glucose, insulin, HOMA insulin resistance, HbA1c and blood lipids improved on the fiber (all p < 0.01), and the abstract states most glucose and lipid measures were significantly better than with placebo; calorie intake was lower. Body weight fell 1.5 kg and body fat 0.3 percentage points more than with placebo. Systolic blood pressure did not differ, and no digestive complaints were reported.
Randomized controlled trial of 10 g/day resistant dextrin or maltodextrin for 8 weeks; a companion paper names the product as Nutriose 06 (Farhangi et al. 2018, Clin Nutr); no Roquette authors; primary outcome not stated in the abstracts (Aliasgharzadeh et al. 2015, Br J Nutr)
55 women with type 2 diabetes in Tabriz, Iran (30 fiber, 25 control).
Fasting insulin (down 22.8%) and HOMA insulin resistance (down 24.9%) fell significantly more than with maltodextrin, and IL-6, TNF-alpha and endotoxin also fell more. Fasting glucose, HbA1c and hs-CRP did not differ between groups.
Randomized, controlled, parallel-arm trial of 20 g resistant dextrin or a drink with 3 g glucose twice daily for 8 weeks, single-blind per the registry, which was filed after completion (NCT06554002) with fasting glucose, insulin, insulin sensitivity and 24-hour glucose as primary outcomes; funded and supplied by Roquette; three Roquette employee authors (Ang et al. 2025, Eur J Nutr)
78 healthy adults in Singapore (48 men, 30 women) with overweight or a family risk of type 2 diabetes.
The abstract reports improved 24-hour glucose under free-living conditions, with the largest improvement after dinner, and lower appetite mainly in the family-risk group. Trunk fat fell only in women of that group. Between-group figures for the fasting outcomes are not given in the abstract.
Randomized crossover trial of 14 g/day NUTRIOSE FB06 or maltodextrin in two daily drinks for 28 days each with a 28-day washout (NCT02041975, primary outcome perceived appetite); funded by Roquette; three Roquette employee authors (Hobden et al. 2021, Eur J Nutr)
36 adults in the UK (20 normal weight, 16 overweight).
Fasting satiety was higher at days 14 and 28, but satiety after lunch and dinner was lower than with control. The glucose rise after the fiber drink was smaller than after the maltodextrin drink, a carbohydrate replacement comparison. Energy intake and body measurements did not change.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel trial of placebo or 8, 14, 18 or 24 g/day NUTRIOSE in orange juice for 21 days; first author employed by Roquette (Guérin-Deremaux et al. 2011, Nutr Res)
100 healthy overweight adults in China, 20 per group.
Short-term satiety ratings rose with dose and time, from day 0 at 14 g and above and from day 5 at 8 g. Hunger fell from day 5 at 24 g and from day 7 at 14 and 18 g, and time to hunger was longer at 24 g by day 5. Food intake and body weight were not reported.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 15 g/day NUTRIOSE FB06 or maltodextrin for 4 weeks with a 2-week washout (NCT05105425); funded by Roquette, which employed three authors and took part in design and writing (Perreau et al. 2026, Front Nutr)
124 healthy men of normal weight with high or low usual fiber intake.
Parabacteroides, the primary outcome, rose to 5.5% of gut bacteria versus 1.4% on placebo (p < 0.0001) and returned to baseline after the washout. Stool pH, short-chain fatty acids, secretory IgA, and stool frequency and consistency did not differ.
Randomized controlled trial of NUTRIOSE FB06 or maltodextrin at 5 g/day in week 1, 10 g/day in week 2 and 20 g/day in weeks 3 to 6; funded by Roquette; two Roquette employee authors (Thirion et al. 2022, Mol Nutr Food Res)
50 healthy women (24 fiber, 26 control).
Fecal metagenome sequencing showed a large rise in Parabacteroides distasonis on the fiber, larger in women whose strains carried certain starch-binding genes. Only gut bacteria were reported as outcomes in the abstract.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel study of 22.5 g/day maltodextrin or 30 or 45 g/day NUTRIOSE FB for 4 to 5 weeks on a metabolic ward; TNO performed the study for Roquette (Pasman et al. 2006, Eur J Clin Nutr)
48 healthy men, 16 per group; 43 completed.
Digestive complaints hardly differed from placebo, with no diarrhea and some adaptation over time. Fecal pH and enzyme activity changed. Body weight was stable on the fiber while the placebo group gained 0.8 kg (p = 0.07); food intake, hunger and satiety did not differ.