The effects of psyllium husk on gut microbiota composition and function in chronically constipated women of reproductive age using 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis
Open accessAbstract
Chronic constipation is a common gastrointestinal disorder that occurs in the elderly and in women. Psyllium husk is widely used to treat this condition. Recent studies have shown that psyllium husk can improve the clinical symptoms of constipation by regulating gut microbiota, but its clinical effects and potential mechanisms in constipated women of reproductive age have not been previously investigated. We compared fecal microbiota after treatment with placebo (n = 29) and psyllium husk (n = 25) using 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) gene sequencing analysis. Psyllium husk relieved the symptoms of constipated women of reproductive age. Sequencing results showed that the psyllium husk group exhibited a different gut microbiota composition compared to that of the placebo group. Moreover, network analysis indicated more significant correlations and clustering of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in the psyllium husk group. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) annotation analysis showed that the relative abundances of metabolism-related KEGG pathways were enriched in the psyllium husk group. In conclusion, these findings suggest that the composition of gut microbiota was altered and that symptoms of constipation were alleviated via psyllium husk intervention. The changes in metabolic function might be related to constipation. Furthermore, these studies are warranted to elucidate the potential metabolic mechanisms contributing to chronic constipation.
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A few clinical trials recently suggested that psyllium husk and wheat bran are effective in improving bowel movement, stool consistency, and straining.
“a few clinical trials recently suggested their effectiveness in improving bowel movement, stool consistency, and straining11–13”
From Effects of dietary fibers or probiotics on functional constipation symptoms and roles of gut microbiota: a double-blinded randomized placebo trial (2023) · cites this paper as [11]
The Results section reports that psyllium husk improved bowel-movement frequency, hard stool, and straining compared with placebo in constipated women of reproductive age. The copy does not report corresponding clinical outcomes for wheat bran; it mentions wheat bran in a reference title, so that part of the claim is unsupported by this paper. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredDietary fibers and probiotics may relieve constipation via optimizing gut microbiome.
“Dietary fibers/probiotics may relieve constipation via optimizing gut microbiome, yet with limited trial-based evidences.”
From Effects of dietary fibers or probiotics on functional constipation symptoms and roles of gut microbiota: a double-blinded randomized placebo trial (2023) · cites this paper as [11]
The Introduction says psyllium, a dietary fiber, can relieve constipation and that probiotics have been used to relieve its symptoms. The Results report symptom improvement with psyllium, while the Introduction says this was accompanied by gut-microbiota changes. However, the paper says the microbiota’s role in the effect remains unclear; it does not establish microbiome optimization as the mechanism for both fibers and probiotics or substantiate the sentence’s claim of limited trial-based evidence. (LLM, conf=0.82)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredPsyllium husk, polydextrose, xylooligosaccharide, and probiotic supplementations were reported to be effective in modulating gut microbiota.
“Dietary fibers, such as psyllium husk11, polydextrose15, xylooligosaccharide16, or probiotic supplementations17, were reported to be effective in modulating gut microbiota”
From Effects of dietary fibers or probiotics on functional constipation symptoms and roles of gut microbiota: a double-blinded randomized placebo trial (2023) · cites this paper as [11]
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- Authors
- Yang, C., Liu, S., Li, H., Bai, X., Shan, S., Gao, P., & Dong, X.
- Affiliations
- Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences (CN)
- Shanxi Medical University (CN)
- Shanxi Provincial Cancer Hospital (CN)
- Shanxi University (CN)
- BGI Group (China) (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Dong, Xiushan
- Venue
- Aging
- Publisher
- Impact Journals, LLC
- Published
- 2021-06-03
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 15366-15383
- ISSN
- 1945-4589 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8221300
- OpenAlex
- W3164273413
- Cited by
- 34
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 4
- FWCI
- 3.89
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Aging (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Gastroenterology › Gastrointestinal motility and disorders
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Microbial Metabolites in Food Biotechnology
- Keywords
- psyllium husk, chronic constipation, gut microbiota, women of reproductive age, fecal microbiota composition, microbial metabolic pathways
- MeSH terms
- Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Adult, Age Factors, Algorithms, Bacteria, Chronic Disease, Constipation, Female, Humans, Phylogeny, Placebos, Psyllium, Reproduction, RNA, Ribosomal, 16S, Species Specificity, Signal Transduction, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Biodiversity
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