Dietary supplementation with partially hydrolyzed guar gum helps improve constipation and gut dysbiosis symptoms and behavioral irritability in children with autism spectrum disorder

Prebiotic dietary water-soluble fiber obtained from partially hydrolyzed guar gum was added to diets of children with autism spectrum disorders who presented constipation symptoms. Supplementation with partially hydrolyzed guar gum altered gut microbiota and significantly increased the frequency of defecation per week and altered the gut microbiota. In addition, supplementation with partially hydrolyzed guar gum significantly (p<0.05) decreased and tended to decrease (p = 0.07) the concentrations of serum interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α, respectively. More importantly, supplementation with partially hydrolyzed guar gum significantly ameliorated behavioral irritability as per the Aberrant Behavior Checklist, Japanese Version. The present study demonstrated that supplementation with partially hydrolyzed guar gum to diets of constipated autism spectrum disorders children helped improve constipation and gut dysbiosis symptoms, which in turn helped attenuate the level of serum inflammation cytokines and behavioral irritability.