Could Xanthan Gum Affect Gut Health? New Study Raises Questions for Gluten-Free Diets (+Video)

Celiac.com 09/08/2026 – Xanthan gum is a common food additive used to thicken, stabilize, and improve the texture of many processed foods. It is especially familiar to people who follow a gluten-free diet because it often helps replace some of the structure normally provided by gluten in breads, baked goods, sauces, dressings, and other products.

A new animal study examined what might happen inside the colon when xanthan gum is consumed regularly over an extended period. The researchers found signs of inflammation, changes in proteins that help control the intestinal barrier, and alterations in certain types of gut bacteria. However, the study was conducted in rats, not people, so it cannot prove that ordinary xanthan gum consumption causes the same effects in humans.

Why Researchers Studied Xanthan Gum

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Xanthan gum is produced through bacterial fermentation and is valued because it remains stable under many temperatures and levels of acidity. In addition to its use in packaged food, it is used as a thickener for people who have difficulty swallowing.

Earlier research had raised questions about whether prolonged exposure to xanthan gum might affect immune activity or intestinal tissues. Particular concern had previously arisen after reports involving premature infants who developed a serious intestinal condition after receiving a xanthan gum-based liquid thickener.

The researchers behind the new study wanted to investigate whether long-term xanthan gum intake could promote inflammation in the adult intestine and whether different intake levels would alter the community of microorganisms living in the colon.

How the Study Was Conducted

The study included thirty-two adult male rats. The animals were divided into four groups and fed their assigned diets for ten weeks.

One group received a standard control diet without added xanthan gum. The other three groups received progressively larger amounts of xanthan gum. The lowest amount was intended to resemble intake from a restrictive gluten-free diet that includes industrially prepared foods containing xanthan gum. The middle amount was designed to resemble occasional use of a xanthan gum thickener by someone with mild swallowing difficulty. The highest amount represented regular use of a thickener in liquids and meal preparation.

During the experiment, the researchers measured weight gain, food intake, body fat, blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood fats. At the end of the ten weeks, they examined colon tissue, measured inflammatory substances, studied proteins involved in the intestinal barrier, and analyzed bacteria collected from the colon.

Weight and General Metabolic Health Were Not Significantly Changed

The rats that consumed xanthan gum did not show significant differences in weight gain, total food intake, food efficiency, or body fat compared with the control animals.

Blood sugar, total cholesterol, protective cholesterol, and blood fats were also broadly similar among the groups. These findings suggest that xanthan gum did not produce obvious changes in overall energy intake, body weight, or the absorption of major nutrients during the ten-week experiment.

This is important because it shows that the intestinal findings occurred even though the animals did not appear noticeably unwell based on weight or routine metabolic measurements.

Colon Tissue Showed Signs of Inflammation

When the researchers examined colon tissue under a microscope, they found greater infiltration by immune cells in the animals that received xanthan gum. Most of these cells were lymphocytes, which are commonly involved in persistent immune and inflammatory responses.

The strongest tissue inflammation was seen in the middle-dose group, followed by the highest-dose group. The inflammation scores were significantly higher in those two groups than in the control animals.

The researchers described the overall response as mild to moderate inflammation rather than severe tissue destruction. They did not report cancer, major tissue death, or the extreme intestinal injury seen in serious human bowel diseases.

Changes Were Found in Inflammatory Signals

The researchers measured several substances involved in immune signaling. One of these, interleukin one beta, was elevated in the middle-dose group compared with the control group and the highest-dose group.

Measurements taken directly from tissue also showed more tumor necrosis factor alpha in the colon of every xanthan gum group than in the control group. Tumor necrosis factor alpha is an inflammatory signaling substance that can contribute to tissue irritation and changes in the intestinal barrier.

Not every inflammatory measurement increased in a simple dose-dependent manner. This means that consuming more xanthan gum did not always produce a proportionally larger change in every test. The researchers suggested that the biological response may be complex and could vary according to dose.

The Intestinal Barrier May Have Been Affected

The cells lining the intestine are connected by structures known as tight junctions. These junctions help control what passes through the intestinal wall and into surrounding tissues.

The study examined several proteins that contribute to these connections. Xanthan gum increased the presence of claudin two in the colon. Higher claudin two levels are often associated with a more permeable intestinal barrier, meaning that the spaces between cells may allow more material to pass through.

The researchers also found changes in zonula occludens one, another protein involved in maintaining cell connections. Occludin, a separate barrier protein, did not show a clear overall difference among the groups.

These results do not prove that the rats developed a clinically significant “leaky gut” condition. However, they suggest that prolonged xanthan gum intake influenced proteins involved in regulating the colon barrier.

Some Gut Bacteria Changed, but Overall Diversity Remained Similar

The researchers also studied the bacterial community in the colon. The two dominant bacterial groups remained similar across all four diets. The overall variety of bacteria was also not significantly changed.

However, a less common bacterial group called Elusimicrobiota increased in the animals receiving the highest amount of xanthan gum. Another bacterial group showed a possible upward trend at the middle dose, although that finding did not meet the study’s standard for statistical significance.

The researchers also identified relationships between certain bacterial groups and the inflammatory or barrier proteins measured in the colon. These associations suggest that changes in the microbiome and changes in the intestinal lining may be connected, although the study cannot show which change occurred first or caused the other.

Important Limitations

The most important limitation is that this was a rat study. Animal digestive systems, bacterial communities, immune responses, and food exposures do not perfectly match those of humans.

The study also involved continuous intake for ten weeks under controlled laboratory conditions. People consume widely different amounts of xanthan gum, often in combination with many other foods and ingredients. The dose present in a slice of gluten-free bread may be very different from the amount used daily to thicken every drink and meal.

The research did not test people with celiac disease, did not compare gluten-free products with and without xanthan gum, and did not show that xanthan gum causes digestive symptoms in humans. It also did not establish that occasional consumption is dangerous.

What This Could Mean for People With Celiac Disease

This study may be especially interesting to people with celiac disease because xanthan gum is widely used in gluten-free packaged foods and baking. The findings raise a reasonable question about whether frequent, high, or long-term intake might affect the colon or intestinal barrier in some individuals.

At the same time, the results are not a reason for everyone with celiac disease to immediately eliminate xanthan gum. The study does not demonstrate harm in humans, and avoiding xanthan gum unnecessarily could make an already restrictive diet more difficult.

The findings may be more relevant for people who consume large amounts every day, rely heavily on processed gluten-free products, use xanthan gum-based swallowing thickeners, or continue to experience unexplained digestive symptoms despite following a strict gluten-free diet. Such individuals might discuss their overall food additive intake with a doctor or registered dietitian rather than making conclusions based on one animal study.

The Bottom Line

Regular xanthan gum intake caused mild to moderate colon inflammation in rats, altered proteins involved in the intestinal barrier, and changed the abundance of a less common group of gut bacteria at the highest dose. It did not significantly affect body weight, food intake, blood sugar, cholesterol, or the overall diversity of the colon microbiome.

For people with celiac disease, the study is meaningful because xanthan gum is so common in gluten-free foods. It highlights the need for well-designed human research to determine whether typical dietary amounts have any effect on symptoms, intestinal healing, inflammation, or the gut microbiome. Until such studies are completed, these findings should be viewed as an early warning signal worth investigating, not proof that xanthan gum is unsafe for people with celiac disease.

Read more at: journals.plos.org

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