One small study, conducted by researchers of the Chemistry Department at the University of Edinburgh, that tested the effects of ingestion of gellan gum at a high level for 23 days showed that it acted as a faecal bulking agent that had effects on dietary transit time.
“High levels” of gellan gum in the volunteers’ diets consisted of 175–200 milligrams of gellan gum per kilogram of body weight. As a bulking agent, it was found that consuming gellan gum caused increased transit time in about half of the volunteers but decreased transmit time in the other half. Faecal bile acid concentrations also increased, but gellan gum had no significant effects on factors like blood glucose, insulin concentrations, or HDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
Overall, the study found that consuming gellan gum, even in high amounts above what would be typical in someone’s diet, caused no adverse dietary or physiological effects, but it may have positive effects on symptoms like constipation or diarrhea due to how it bulks stool.
Findings from another animal study published in the Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitamintology also suggest the same. Gellan gum typically shortens gastrointestinal transit time, suggesting improved evacuation/elimination in those who prone to digestive problems like constipation.
