Fiber Science . Research

What Is Wheat Dextrin? The Fiber in Benefiber, Explained

October 20, 2026 · 6 min read
What Is Wheat Dextrin? The Fiber in Benefiber, Explained
TL;DR

Wheat dextrin is a soluble fiber made by breaking down wheat starch and rearranging it so the gut cannot digest it. It is the fiber in Benefiber in the US. It dissolves clear, stays as thin as water, and gut bacteria ferment it. It holds no authorised EU health claim: all 14 submissions in the EU register were refused. In the largest trial, 15 grams a day for four weeks changed gut bacteria but did not change how often people went or their stool form. Up to about 12 grams a day is usually well tolerated.

Wheat dextrin is a soluble fiber made from wheat starch. It is the fiber in Benefiber in the US. It dissolves clear, stays as thin as water, and gut bacteria ferment it. It holds no authorised EU health claim.

In a drink it behaves like PHGG and very unlike psyllium husk, which swells into a gel.

→ Read: Types of fiber supplements compared

How is wheat dextrin made?

It starts as ordinary wheat starch, which is a chain of glucose. The starch is partly broken down, and the glucose units are rejoined with several kinds of bonds that the small intestine cannot digest.1 The result passes the small intestine like a fiber.

The best-studied wheat dextrin, sold to food makers as NUTRIOSE FB06, is about 85% fiber, with almost no sugar left in it.2 Similar fibers are made from corn, such as Fibersol, and the NUTRIOSE name is also used for corn and pea versions.1 The research below is on the wheat version unless we say otherwise.

How does wheat dextrin behave in water and in the gut?

It dissolves completely and stays thin. In a lab test, a wheat dextrin drink was so thin that its thickness fell below what the instrument could measure.3 That is why it mixes into water, coffee or soup without changing the texture.

In the gut, gut bacteria in the colon ferment it. Psyllium works the other way round: it absorbs up to 40 times its weight in water, forms a gel, and in a lab test 72% of it was left unfermented.4

Comparison matrix of wheat dextrin, psyllium husk and PHGG across three properties. Psyllium thickens water into a gel; wheat dextrin and PHGG stay thin. Wheat dextrin and PHGG are fermented by gut bacteria; psyllium only partly. Psyllium husk is an approved EU herbal medicine; wheat dextrin and PHGG are not.

Wheat dextrin behaves like PHGG: thin in water and fermented in the gut. Psyllium forms a gel and is mostly left unfermented. Sources: Reichert et al., Nutrients 2016; Mysonhimer and Holscher, Advances in Nutrition 2022; EMA ispaghula husk monograph; Yoon et al. 2008.

PropertyWheat dextrinPsyllium huskPHGG
Thickens water into a gelNoYesNo
Fermented by gut bacteriaYesPartlyYes, slowly
EU-approved herbal medicineNoYes (ispaghula husk)No

Is Benefiber always wheat dextrin?

In the US it is. Benefiber states that its Original powder “is made from wheat dextrin”.5

The name has not always pointed to one fiber. In the EU register of health claims, one submission lists Benefiber as another name for Sunfiber, which is PHGG.6 Our page on Sunfiber covers that fiber. If you are comparing products in a country where Benefiber is not sold, look for “wheat dextrin” in the ingredient list.

Is wheat dextrin gluten free?

In the US, Benefiber says it is gluten-free and that “the wheat has been processed” to meet the FDA requirements for gluten-free foods.5

EU allergen rules work differently. They list wheat and products made from it as allergens, with a few named exceptions: wheat-based glucose syrups (including dextrose) and wheat-based maltodextrins.7 Wheat dextrin is not one of the named exceptions. If you have coeliac disease or a wheat allergy, read the label and ask a pharmacist before you take it.

Which EU health claims does wheat dextrin hold?

None. The EU list of authorised health claims does not name wheat dextrin.8

The EU register holds 14 submissions for wheat dextrin, and all 14 were refused.6 They covered eight effects: normal bowel function, blood sugar after meals, cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, calcium and magnesium uptake, short-chain fatty acids in the bowel, and harmful gut microbes. A refusal means the evidence sent to EFSA did not meet its standard. Our explainer on how EFSA judges fiber claims covers what that does and does not mean.

The wheat fiber that does hold EU claims is wheat bran: it contributes to faster intestinal transit at 10 grams or more a day, and to an increase in stool bulk.8 And a general EU claim covers foods in which non-digestible carbohydrates replace sugar, which then raise blood sugar less than the sugary version.8 EFSA confirmed in 2014 that this applies to wheat dextrin used that way.9 It is a claim about swapping out sugar in a food. It does not cover a fiber powder stirred into a drink.

What does the research on wheat dextrin show?

Most trials were small, in healthy adults, and funded by or run with the company that makes NUTRIOSE.

Regularity. In the largest trial, 124 healthy men took 15 grams a day or a placebo for four weeks.2 Stool frequency and stool form did not differ significantly between the groups; there was only a trend. Butyrate, a fatty acid gut bacteria make from fiber, was lower in the wheat dextrin group (15.2 against 19.3 µmol per gram of stool). The maker funded the trial and helped design and write it. A 2016 review explains the result: a soluble fiber that gut bacteria break down does not hold water in the stool, so it does not soften or bulk it the way psyllium does.10 The trials we found were in healthy adults, not people with constipation.

Gut bacteria. The clearest effect is on one group of bacteria. In the 124-man trial, Parabacteroides rose to 5.5% of gut bacteria, against 1.4% on placebo.2 A 6-week trial in 50 healthy women found the same rise in Parabacteroides distasonis.11 What that change does for health is not yet known.

Gas. In a 4-week study of 20 healthy adults taking 14 grams a day, gas and gas-related discomfort rose at first and then fell, and fell further after people stopped.12

Fullness. The results point both ways. In a 3-week trial of 100 adults with overweight in China, fullness rose with the dose, from 8 to 24 grams a day.13 In a 28-day UK trial of 36 adults at 14 grams a day, people felt fuller before meals but less full after lunch and dinner.14 Wheat dextrin holds no EU claim on appetite.

Blood sugar. A 2026 review of 13 trials of resistant dextrin from several sources found a small drop in fasting blood sugar, 0.15 mmol/L, and no clear change in HbA1c.15 Results varied a lot between trials. The EU refused the blood sugar submissions for wheat dextrin.6

How much wheat dextrin can you take?

Up to about 12 grams a day is usually well tolerated. A 2022 review of 11 trials of this fiber type found mild or moderate symptoms at 12 to 27 grams a day, and heavy gas with mild stomach pain above 50 grams a day.1 In a 5-week trial, 48 men took 30 or 45 grams a day with no diarrhoea and few complaints beyond placebo, and the symptoms eased over time.16

Start with a small dose and build up slowly. Our guide on starting a fiber supplement without bloating explains how. If you take a GLP-1 medicine or other medicines, ask a pharmacist about timing; our page on taking fiber with a GLP-1 medication explains when spacing matters.

Who might wheat dextrin suit?

People who want fiber they cannot taste or see. It dissolves clear and stays thin, so it fits into drinks and food without any texture.

People who find gel fibers hard to take. It does not thicken, so there is no gel to swallow.

It is less suited to people who want help with constipation. For regularity, psyllium has the stronger evidence. People with coeliac disease or a wheat allergy should check the label first.

Wheat dextrin dissolves without a trace and changes which bacteria grow in the gut. In the trials so far, it has not changed how often people go.

Sources

Footnotes

  1. Mysonhimer AR, Holscher HD. “Gastrointestinal Effects and Tolerance of Nondigestible Carbohydrate Consumption.” Advances in Nutrition 2022;13(6). PMC9776669. Resistant maltodextrin/dextrin (including wheat dextrin and soluble wheat fiber) is soluble, fermentable and nonviscous, made of glucose units joined by α-(1,6), α-(1,4), α-(1,3) and α-(1,2) bonds from partially hydrolysed starch, and accepted by the US FDA as a dietary fiber. NUTRIOSE can be a corn, wheat or pea fiber; Fibersol is corn. Across 11 studies: up to 12 g/day well tolerated, 12 to 27 g/day mild or moderate symptoms, above 50 g/day excessive flatulence and mild abdominal pain; recommended tolerable intake up to 12 g/day. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  2. Perreau C, Tomassi D, Capronnier O, Carton T, Thabuis C, Guérin-Deremaux L. “Resistant dextrin promotes beneficial fecal bacteria in high and low fiber diet populations: a randomized, double-blinded, controlled pilot study.” Frontiers in Nutrition 2026. doi:10.3389/fnut.2026.1810842. NCT05105425. 124 healthy men, 15 g/day NUTRIOSE FB06 (a glucose polymer from wheat starch, about 85% fiber) or maltodextrin for 4 weeks. Parabacteroides 5.5% vs 1.4%; no significant difference in stool frequency or consistency; butyrate 15.2 vs 19.3 µmol/g (p = 0.0113). Funded by Roquette, which owns the product and took part in design and writing. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. Reichert RG et al. (Vuksan group). Viscous vs non-viscous fiber, satiety and glycaemia. Nutrients 2016;8(2). PMC4882681. Wheat dextrin viscosity below the viscometer’s limit of detection. ↩

  4. European Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products. Community herbal monograph on Plantago ovata Forssk., seminis tegumentum (ispaghula husk), EMA/HMPC/199774/2012. Water absorption up to 40 times its weight; in vitro, 72% of the husk remained unfermented. ↩

  5. Benefiber Original prebiotic fiber supplement, product page, benefiber.com, retrieved 20 October 2026. “Made from wheat dextrin”; gluten-free statement: “The wheat has been processed to allow this food to meet the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements for gluten-free foods.” ↩ ↩2

  6. European Commission, Food and Feed Information Portal, EU Register of nutrition and health claims, retrieved 20 October 2026. 14 entries for “Wheat Dextrin”, all non-authorised, on normal bowel function, post-prandial glycaemic responses, blood cholesterol, blood triglycerides, blood pressure, magnesium and/or calcium retention, short-chain fatty acid production in the bowel, and potentially pathogenic gastro-intestinal microorganisms. Separate non-authorised entry: “SunfiberTM (syn.: BenefiberTM) (enzymatically partially depolymerised guar gum)”. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  7. Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers, Annex II, point 1, consolidated text of 1 January 2018: cereals containing gluten, including wheat, and products thereof, except wheat-based glucose syrups including dextrose, wheat-based maltodextrins, glucose syrups based on barley, and cereals used for making alcoholic distillates. ↩

  8. Commission Regulation (EU) No 432/2012 establishing a list of permitted health claims made on foods, consolidated text of 17 May 2021. No entry for wheat dextrin. Wheat bran fibre: acceleration of intestinal transit (at least 10 g of wheat bran fibre a day, food high in fibre) and increase in faecal bulk (food high in fibre). Non-digestible carbohydrates: foods or drinks in which sugars are replaced by non-digestible carbohydrates induce a lower blood glucose rise than sugar-containing foods or drinks, on condition that sugars are reduced by at least the amount required for a “reduced sugars” claim. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  9. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies. “Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of a health claim related to Nutriose®06 and a reduction of post-prandial glycaemic responses pursuant to Article 13(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006.” EFSA Journal 2014. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2014.3839. The earlier favourable evaluation of non-digestible carbohydrates replacing glycaemic carbohydrates, with its wording and conditions, applies. ↩

  10. McRorie JW, Chey WD. “Fermented Fiber Supplements Are No Better Than Placebo for a Laxative Effect.” Digestive Diseases and Sciences 2016. PMID 27680987. Inulin and wheat dextrin have no effect on viscosity; a readily fermented soluble fiber has no effect on stool output or stool water content; non-fermented, gel-forming psyllium keeps its water-holding gel through the large bowel. ↩

  11. Thirion F et al. “Diet Supplementation with NUTRIOSE, a Resistant Dextrin, Increases the Abundance of Parabacteroides distasonis in the Human Gut.” Molecular Nutrition & Food Research 2022. PMC9287035. 50 healthy women, 6 weeks. ↩

  12. Barber C et al. “Effect of Resistant Dextrin on Intestinal Gas Homeostasis and Microbiota.” Nutrients 2022;14(21):4611. PMC9654059. 20 healthy adults, 14 g/day NUTRIOSE for 4 weeks. ↩

  13. Guérin-Deremaux L et al. “The soluble fiber NUTRIOSE induces a dose-dependent beneficial impact on satiety over time in humans.” Nutrition Research 2011. PMID 22024490. 100 overweight adults in China, placebo or 8, 14, 18 or 24 g/day for 3 weeks. ↩

  14. Hobden MR et al. “Impact of dietary supplementation with resistant dextrin (NUTRIOSE) on satiety, glycaemia, and related endpoints, in healthy adults.” European Journal of Nutrition 2021. PMC8572182. NCT02041975. 36 UK adults, 14 g/day for 28 days, crossover: higher fasted satiety at days 14 and 28; lower satiety after lunch and the evening meal. ↩

  15. Chen S et al. “Effects of resistant dextrin on glycemic traits: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.” Nutrition Journal 2026. PMC13072545. 13 trials; fasting blood glucose −0.15 mmol/L (p = 0.049, I² 77.5%); HbA1c −0.18% (p = 0.07, not significant). ↩

  16. Pasman W, Wils D, Saniez MH, Kardinaal A. “Long-term gastrointestinal tolerance of NUTRIOSE FB in healthy men.” European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2006. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602418. 48 men (43 completed), 30 or 45 g/day for 4 to 5 weeks vs 22.5 g maltodextrin; no diarrhoea; some adaptation of symptoms over time. Commissioned by Roquette. ↩