Apple pectin powder is a dietary supplement that can provide various health benefits based on scientific research. Studies have shown that apple pectin can have positive effects on the large intestine fermentations and lipid metabolism in rats, indicating its potential to promote gut health and regulate lipid levels. Additionally, apple pectin has been found to be effective in reducing the uptake of radioactive 137Cs in children, making it a useful supplement for those living in contaminated areas.

By supplementing with apple pectin powder, individuals can support their digestive health and potentially reduce their risk of lipid-related health issues. Apple pectin can also act as a natural chelator, binding to and removing toxins from the body, which may be beneficial for those exposed to environmental toxins.

Aids weight loss

Effect of pectin on satiety in healthy US Army adults

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07315724.1997.10718708

• Male (n = 49) and female (n = 25) US Army employees within normal weight limits were fasted overnight then fed 448 mL of orange juice on 2 separate days followed 4 hours later by 0.473 L of ice cream.
• On 1 of the 2 days, 5, 10, 15 or 20 g of pectin was mixed with the orange juice. Satiety was measured on a visual analog scale before and at 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 hours after orange juice and at 0, 30 and 60 minutes after ice cream.
• There were significant differences in satiety as a function of beverage (p < 0.001) and time (p < 0.001) but not pectin dose (p = 0.121). The effect lasted up to 4 hours after ingesting pectin and orange juice and for 60 minutes after a second meal consisting of ice cream
• Pectin in doses as small as 5 g mixed with orange juice increases satiety and can aid in a program to reduce weight by limiting food intake.

Helps control blood sugar

Sustained pectin ingestion: effect on gastric emptying and glucose tolerance in non-insulin-dependent diabetic patients

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002916523161880?via%3Dihub

• Studied in 12 stable, non-insulin-dependent (type 2) diabetic patients. Patients were placed on a 2400 kcal, low-fiber (3 g) diet for 2 wk, followed by 4 wk of an isocaloric diet supplemented with 20 g apple pectin/d.
• Gastric-emptying half-time was prolonged 43% (p less than 0.025) by pectin supplementation and returned to normal 3 d after its discontinuation.
• Fiber supplementation decreased the incremental area under the glucose tolerance curve from 34.8 +/- 3.0 to 27.9 +/- 3.2 mmol/L (p less than 0.01) but did not affect hormonal responses to a meal
• Sustained pectin ingestion slowed the gastric-emptying rate and improved glucose tolerance.

Aids heart health

• Cholesterol-lowering properties of different pectin types in mildly hyper-cholesterolemic men and women
• https://www.nature.com/articles/ejcn2011208
• Cross-over studies were completed in mildly hyper-cholesterolemic persons receiving either 15 g/day pectin or cellulose with food for 4 weeks.
• Relative low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (LDL-C) lowering was as follows: citrus pectin DE-70=apple pectin DE-70 (7–10% reduction versus control)>apple pectin DE-35=citrus pectin DE-35>OPF (orange pulp fiber) DE-70 and low-MW pectin DE-70>citrus DE-0. In a subsequent 3-week trial with 6 g/day pectin, citrus DE-70 and high MW pectin DE-70 reduced LDL-C 6–7% versus control (without changes in TC).
• In both studies, high DE and high MW were important for cholesterol lowering. Source may also be important as citrus and apple DE-70 pectin were more effective than OPF DE-70 pectin.
• Pectin did not affect inflammatory markers high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) nor plasma homocysteine.
• Long-term blood cholesterol-lowering effects of a dietary fiber supplement
• https://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(99)00039-2/abstract
• After stabilization for 9 weeks on a National Cholesterol Education Program Step 1 Diet, subjects were randomly assigned to receive 20 g/d of the fiber supplement (n = 87) or matching placebo (n = 82) for 15 weeks and then receive the fiber supplement for 36 weeks
• The mean decreases during the 15-week period for LDL cholesterol (LDL-C), total cholesterol (TC), and LDL-C/HDL-C ratio were greater (P < 0.001) in the fiber group. The mean changes from pre-treatment values in LDL-C, TC, and LDL-C/HDL-C ratio for subjects in the fiber group were -0.51 mmol/L (-12.1%), -0.53 mmol/L (-8.5%), and -0.30 (-9.4%), respectively.
• The corresponding changes in the placebo group were -0.05 mmol/L (-1.3%), -0.05 mmol/L (-0.8%), and 0.05 (1.5%), respectively. The fiber supplement had no significant effects (P > 0.05) on HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), triglyceride, iron, ferritin, or vitamin A or E levels. Similar effects were seen over the subsequent 36-week noncomparative part of the study.

Lowers Blood pressure

• The effect of viscous soluble fiber on blood pressure
• https://www.nmcd-journal.com/article/S0939-4753(17)30222-3/abstract
• Twenty-two (N = 1430) and twenty-one RCTs (N = 1343) were included in the final analysis for SBP and DBP, respectively.
• Viscous fiber reduced SBP (MD = -1.59 mmHg [95% CI: -2.72,-0.46]) and DBP (MD = -0.39 mmHg [95% CI: -0.76,-0.01]) at a median dose of 8.7 g/day (1.45-30 g/day) over a median follow-up of 7-weeks.
• Substantial heterogeneity in SBP (I2 = 72%, P < 0.01) and DBP (I2 = 67%, P < 0.01) analysis occurred. Within the five fiber types, SBP reductions were observed only for supplementation using psyllium fiber (MD = -2.39 mmHg [95% CI: -4.62,-0.17]).
• iscous soluble fiber has an overall lowering effect on SBP and DBP.

Relieves diarrhea and constipation

• [Clinical benefits after soluble dietary fiber supplementation: a randomized clinical trial in adults with slow-transit constipation]
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25623312/
• A total of 80 patients with slow-transit constipation were selected between June 2011 and December 2013
• Treatment consisted of 4-week supplementation with 24 g/d pectin (fiber group) or maltodextrin (placebo group)
• CTT of the fiber group after treatment was lower than those of fiber group before treatment and those in the placebo group ((60.2 ± 11.2) h vs (80.3 ± 9.5), (79.4 ± 11.7) h, P < 0.01). Constipation score of the fiber group after treatment also decreased than those of fiber group before treatment and those in the placebo group (both P < 0.05)
• No significant adverse effects were reported.
• [Efficacy of pectin in the treatment of diarrhea predominant irritable bowel syndrome]
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25809332/
• A total of 87 patients with IBS-D were selected in the Jinling Hospital between July 2011 and December 2013
• Subjects were randomly assigned to receive 24 g pectin powder/d (n=46) or a placebo (n=41)
• Those patients randomized to pectin experienced a greater reduction in composite symptom scores and Bristol stool scale scores, as well as significant improvement in QOL scores (P<0.05).
• The pectin acted as prebiotics and significantly enhanced faecal bifidobacteria and decreased total Clostridium sp (P<0.05)
• No significant adverse effects were reported during the study.

Enhances iron absorption

• Highly esterified pectin with low molecular weight enhances intestinal solubility and absorption of ferric iron in rats
• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0271531798001705
• All the rats were fed a basal diet containing ferric sulfate as an iron source for 7d. Rats were deprived of feed for about 19h and then fed 6g (based on the preliminary experiment) of the basal diet or basal diet containing one of pectins (80 g/kg diet) for 2 h
• pectin B to the diet resulted in significantly greater intestinal iron absorption and postprandial iron concentration in portal blood compared to the other groups
• The present findings clearly indicate that iron solubility was influenced by pectin's DE and MW. The pectin with the high DE and low MW enhanced ferric iron solubility and absorption of solubilized iron.

Improves acid reflux

• Effects of pectin liquid on gastroesophageal reflux disease in children with cerebral palsy
• https://bmcgastroenterol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-230X-8-11
• We enrolled 18 neurologically impaired children caused by cerebral palsy, with gastroesophageal reflux disease
• two groups: fed with a high-pectin diet [enteral formula: pectin liquid = 2:1 (v/v)], or a low-pectin diet [enteral formula: pectin liquid = 3:1 (v/v)]. Two-channel esophageal pH monitoring was performed over 48 h.
• In the second part (clinical trial), subjects were fed a high- or low-pectin diet and non-pectin diet for 4 weeks in a crossover manner.
• he median value for the % time pH < 4 at the lower and upper esophagus was significantly decreased with a high-pectin diet [9.2% (6.2–22.6)
• number of reflux episodes per day and duration of longest reflux were decreased significantly with a high-pectin,
• The median cough-score was significantly decreased by both concentrations of pectin [8.5/week (1.0–11.5)

Offers anticancer effects

• Inhibition of spontaneous metastasis in a rat prostate cancer model by oral administration of modified citrus pectin
• https://academic.oup.com/jnci/article-abstract/87/5/348/916058?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false
• Compared with 15 or 16 control rats that had lung metastases on day 30, seven of 14 rats in the 0.1% and nine of 16 rats in the 1.0% modified citrus-pectin group had statistically significant (two-sided; P < .03 and P < .001, respectively) reductions in lung metastases.
• The lungs of the 1.0% modified citrus pectin-treated rats had significantly (two-sided; P < .05) fewer metastatic colonies than control groups (9 colonies +/- 4 [mean +/- SE] in the control group compared with 1 colony +/- 1 in the treated group). Modified citrus pectin had no effect on the growth of the primary tumors
• oral intake of modified citrus pectin acts as a potent inhibitor of spontaneous prostate carcinoma metastasis in the Copenhagen rat.

May Promote gut health

• Comparison of the in vitro bifidogenic properties of pectins and pectic-oligosaccharides
• https://academic.oup.com/jambio/article-abstract/93/3/505/6721974?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false
• The degree of methylation plays an important role in the fermentation properties of pectins. Pectic‐oligosaccharides are a better prebiotic candidate than the pectins, although their bifidogenic effect is low compared to oligofructos
• The effect of size on prebiotic potential was demonstrated. Non‐selectively fermented polysaccharides like pectin can have their bifidogenic properties improved by partial hydrolysis.