Psyllium as a functional fibre: overview
- Psyllium combines digestive health benefits with valuable formulation properties
- Gluten-free bakery remains psyllium’s most established food application area
- Consumer reach has increased roughly 55% year-on-year
- Gut health trends and GLP-1 use may boost demand
- Psyllium benefits from broader fibre growth yet retains differentiation
Once neglected in favour of protein, fibre has recently exploded into popularity as part of the functional foods boom.
‘High fibre’ claims are ballooning, and consumer interest in fibre is strong, with online trends such as fibremaxxing boosting demand.
Psyllium, a functional fibre, is also growing in popularity. While boasting many of the same properties as other fibres, it also has a number of attributes that make it stand out from the pack.
What is psyllium?
Psyllium is a fibre found in the seeds of the herb Plantago ovata. It is also a functional ingredient with a range of benefits.
It is frequently associated with digestive health. Research has suggested that it can improve stool normalisation and help reduce symptoms for people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
It can also reduce levels of LDL cholesterol, according to Harvard Health. This is the cholesterol known as ‘bad cholesterol’.
Its functional properties don’t end there.
Research suggests that psyllium can improve glycaemic control. “Viscous psyllium consumed around meals can slow carbohydrate digestion and absorption, and reduce post-meal glucose excursions, particularly in people with impaired glycaemic control,” says Saurabh Gandhi, head of nutrition and wellness at market research company Grand View Research. This effect depends on dose, timing and the food matrix.
Studies have also suggested that psyllium can boost satiety, increasing fullness between meals.
While none of these effects are entirely unique to psyllium, not all are found in every fibre.
For example, not every fibre lowers LDL cholesterol: LDL reduction is often associated more with soluble than insoluble fibres, according to Harvard Health.
Psyllium’s use is often relegated to supplements, but its use in food is substantial.
Psyllium in gluten-free baking
Psyllium’s most prominent use is as a functional ingredient in high-fibre and gluten-free bakery, explains Grand View Research’s Gandhi.
This is because it provides not only functional properties in terms of health and nutrition, but functional properties in technical terms, improving the structure of the food itself.
Psyllium “provides a rare combination of fibre enrichment and structure formation, helping gluten-free dough retain gas, hold water and maintain a softer crumb”, explains Gandhi.
It is widely used in gluten-free baking: in bread, pasta, pizza bases, wraps and flatbreads, says Nandini Roy Choudhury, principal consultant for food and beverage at market research company Future Market Insights.
Beyond gluten-free
While most prominent in gluten-free baking, its use in other packaged foods is “commercially meaningful”, suggests Gandhi.
It is used in fibre beverages, meal replacements, and specialist digestive health products, he explains.
It is found in plant-based meat products, where it can assist with binding, and sauces, soups and prepared foods that require thickening or stabilisation, explains Future Market Insights’ Choudhury.
The ingredient is used in breakfast cereals, granola and nutrition bars, weight-management products, and high-fibre and reduced carbohydrate bakery products.
In the beverage space, it is used in powdered drink mixes, smoothies and functional beverages.
Will its popularity grow?
Psyllium is not yet mainstream as a functional ingredient in food.
“It is better described as an emerging functional food ingredient rather than an ingredient that has already achieved the mainstream recognition of protein, probiotics or oat fibre,” says Choudhury.
Nevertheless, popularity is already growing. According to AI analytics platform Tastewise, psyllium is reaching around 55% more consumers than a year ago.
“Psyllium is better described as an emerging functional food ingredient rather than an ingredient that has already achieved the mainstream recognition of protein.”
Nandini Roy Choudhury, Future Market Insights
Name recognition of psyllium, says Gandhi, is currently moderate, concentrated among supplement users and gluten-free consumers.
Yet the probability that psyllium will increase in popularity is high, he suggests, predicting a 70-80% chance of material growth in food applications over the next five to seven years.
Gandhi expects its growth to be driven by the fact that digestive health, and gut health in particular, are now mainstream. The popularity of clean-label ingredients may also boost psyllium, as it can be used for binding, thickening and moisture retention in place of an additive.
Finally, the popularity of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs may be a boon for the ingredient, as constipation is one of the side-effects linked to the drugs, and psyllium is associated with digestive health.
While psyllium is unlikely to become the next ‘protein-scale’ ingredient success story, says Choudhury, it does have a number of benefits to make it stand out from the crowd.
“It has a realistic opportunity to become an important ingredient within digestive wellness, gluten-free bakery and fibre-enriched foods. Its strongest competitive advantage is that it can offer manufacturers both a recognisable health proposition and a practical formulation function.”
What are the bottlenecks to psyllium’s success?
There are some barriers to psyllium’s widespread adoption as a functional ingredient, specifically related to formulation.
For example, psyllium absorbs a lot of water, which can create excessive thickness, potentially affecting taste and mouthfeel when it’s used at high concentrations, says Choudhury.
Higher intakes of psyllium can also cause bloating or gastrointestinal discomfort, especially when introduced quickly, says Gandhi.
Psyllium also has some disadvantages from a marketing side. It still has a medicinal and laxative image, Gandhi suggests, which may limit its use for more indulgent foods.
In the beverage arena, it also competes with low-viscosity, beverage-friendly and strongly prebiotic fibres.
Finally, geographical concentration – production is heavily concentrated in India, according to Satnam Psyllium Industries – may lead to sourcing risks.
Is psyllium just another fibre?
Fibre is already a hugely successful functional ingredient. Could psyllium’s popularity simply be symptomatic of fibre’s?
In many ways, demand for psyllium is simply part of demand for fibre. Demand for psyllium due to the broader fibre trend will constitute around 65-75% of demand as a whole, predicts Grand View Research, while demand due to psyllium-specific recognition will be around 25-35%.
The initial popularity of psyllium is being primarily driven by the popularity of fibre in general, suggests Choudhury. Consumers are seeking high-fibre foods without necessarily distinguishing between different fibre types.
Nevertheless, she stresses, its functionality offers benefits that other fibres don’t. “It is a soluble, highly viscous and gel-forming fibre. Unlike many fibres that are incorporated mainly to increase the fibre content displayed on the nutrition panel, psyllium can materially change a food’s texture, water absorption, structure and physiological response.”
The combination of psyllium’s technical properties and its nutritional benefits is a unique selling point that many other fibres simply do not have.
