In recent years, meal replacement foods have become very popular, and everyone is looking for solutions that are delicious and not fat. From flour, cereals, whole-wheat biscuits, and instant noodles, the main features of these meal replacements are high dietary fiber, and the daily metabolic calorie difference is achieved through satiety, low sugar, and low GI. Psyllium has always been considered as an excellent raw material for meal replacement. It has a high dietary fiber colloid component, and 10 times the water absorption and swelling can make people feel full and full, and it is widely used in meal replacement foods. 

1.What is psyllium husk?

Psyllium chinensis belongs to the genus Plantain and is native to India, Iran, Pakistan and other countries; it is currently cultivated in many countries such as France, Spain and other Mediterranean regions, and a small number of species have been introduced in Hotan and Kashgar in Xinjiang.

Psyllium husk is a thin layer of white light brown outside the seed epidermis, which accounts for 25% of the total seed mass. The total dietary fiber content accounts for about 80%. After absorbing water, it forms a transparent and colorless gel, and the volume increases by 10 times or more. The ratio of soluble dietary fiber to insoluble dietary fiber is as high as 7:3. Other nutrients mainly include glucoside, protein, polysaccharide, vitamin B1 and choline.

At present, India is the main country for the production and export of psyllium. The United States is the world's largest importer of psyllium husks, with more than 60% of total imports going to pharmaceutical companies.

2.Domestic and foreign laws and regulations：

（1）domestic standard

Plantogo ovatax is a kind of psyllium, which is a species of the genus Planophyllum, which belongs to the genus Planophyllum in the class of Dicotyledonous plants of the Angiosperm phylum. But not included in "Chinese Flora" and "Chinese Pharmacopoeia").

"Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2020 Edition)" includes psyllium and psyllium as Chinese herbal medicines. Both the seeds and the whole herb have certain medicinal value, but only the psyllium Plantago asiatica L. Dried mature seeds and dried whole grass of depressaWild. In 2002, the former Health and Family Planning Commission listed psyllium and psyllium in the "List of Items That Can Be Used in Health Food".

The genus Plantago, Vol.70 (2002), page 318 of Flora of China, includes more than 20 species such as giant car, north car, big car, flat car, and multi-seed car. cultivar, but there is no Psyllium husk variety.

Psyllium husk is a new food raw material approved by my country. On May 30, 2014, the National Health and Health Commission issued an announcement on the approval of 6 new food raw materials such as tagatose (Announcement No. 10 of 2014), officially approving psyllium husk as a new food raw material. 

（2）foreign regulations：

FDA

In 1998, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated that psyllium husk soluble fiber can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

In 2014 the FDA approved a restrictive health claim for psyllium husk: psyllium husk may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. In May 2016, the US FDA approved Psyllium husk to enter the list of dietary fibers.

EU

In 2013, the Herbal Medicine Committee (HMPC) under the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced that Psyllium husk can be used to increase dietary fiber intake to improve habitual constipation in children or adults over 6 years old.

3.What does psyllium husk do?

Promote normal intestinal emptying; Psyllium husk powder is rich in dietary fiber and has strong water absorption. After water absorption and swelling, it can increase the volume of stool, maintain the moisture and softness of stool, and stimulate the production of intestinal wall. Reflex contraction, improve the lubricating conditions of feces and intestinal wall, and promote normal intestinal emptying. Psyllium is also a natural laxative, it can quickly absorb intestinal water, reduce intestinal osmotic pressure and relieve diarrhea.

Promote the growth of probiotics; Psyllium husks are rich in hemicellulose, which cannot be digested by the human body. Entering the intestines can promote the growth of probiotics in the intestines and reduce the number of harmful bacteria.

Natural "blood sugar stabilizer"; Psyllium husk is digested slowly in the gastrointestinal tract, which can slow down the absorption of carbohydrates in the small intestine, allowing sugar to be slowly released into the blood, reducing blood sugar shocks and preventing fat synthesis.

4.What is the application direction of psyllium husk?

Psyllium husk is rich in soluble dietary fiber and insoluble dietary fiber, and is mostly used in food and beverage, health food and pet food.

5.The role of efficacy：

(1). Laxative effect: The active ingredient of psyllium husk is the polysaccharide molecule in the seed shell. This very special polysaccharide molecule can quickly absorb water and form a transparent paste. Absorbs water in the small intestine to form a paste-like mass, which improves the lubricating conditions of the intestinal wall and promotes the speed of defecation. Not only does it not cause diarrhea, but it can also increase the dry weight of stool, which can be said to be a natural laxative. Psyllium husk can increase the amount of water in the feces and keep the feces moderately soft, so it is very good for constipated friends to eat!

(2). Improve cardiovascular disease: Psyllium chinensis fiber has the effect of lowering blood cholesterol. Under the action of probiotics in the colon, the carbohydrates in the psyllium fiber are decomposed into short-chain fatty acids by fermentation, thereby preventing the synthesis of cholesterol. As early as 1998, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an announcement that Psyllium husk soluble fiber can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

(3). Prevent the risk of colon cancer and other gastrointestinal diseases: If there is a lack of fiber in the diet, it will increase the time that food residues stay in the intestinal tract, and increase the generation of carcinogenic factors and their contact time with the intestinal wall mucosa, which is easy to cause the large intestine. risk of developing cancer or other diseases. In addition, psyllium fiber also acts as an antidote. By absorbing a large amount of water and other harmful substances, the volume of feces increases, heavy metals and other harmful chemical toxins are adsorbed in the fecal mass, thereby reducing the concentration of carcinogens or harmful substances; at the same time, it promotes intestinal peristalsis and accelerates its discharge, Reduce the time of contact with the mucosa of the intestinal wall. Therefore, it can prevent or reduce the risk of colon cancer, colitis and other intestinal diseases.

(4). Diabetes - blood sugar control: psyllium fiber helps to control the rise in blood sugar after meals. At the same time, by intervening in diabetes, plantain can help reduce insulin requirements in diabetic patients. Psyllium husk can reduce the need for insulin in diabetics and help the body repair islet cells.

(5). Weight control: Since the psyllium husk is rich in water-soluble fiber, it will swell to form dozens of times of gel mass when exposed to water, which can increase satiety, but will not provide calories and reduce calorie intake.