Manipulating dietary fibre: Gum Arabic making friends of the colon and the kidney

Abstract

There is an appreciation that the incidence of chronic renal disease is increasing worldwide. This is a health issue, which carries significant morbidity and mortality for patients. Furthermore treatment of patients with renal failure is expensive and therefore represents a significant financial burden to health economies. This review provides an overview of the in vitro, in vivo and clinical evidence supporting the potential therapeutic benefit of manipulating dietary fibre intake and specifically supplementation of the diet with Gum Arabic in patients with progressive renal disease