Tate & Lyle: Discovering soluble corn fiber’s cognitive brain benefits
05 May 2026 | Tate & Lyle
Dr. Clare Leonard, VP of Nutrition and Health Sciences at Tate & Lyle, discusses research linking soluble corn fiber to enhanced cognitive function. A study demonstrates that daily consumption improves focus and response times in adults by boosting beneficial gut bacteria like Parabacteroides distasonis. Leonard emphasizes fiber’s role as a vital, affordable tool for supporting the gut-brain axis and wider public health.
Hi, this is Benjamin Ferreir for Nutrition Insight, and today I'm speaking with Claire Leonard, who's the VP of nutrition and Health Science at Tate and Lyle, and she's here to share some new clinical evidence explaining how soluble corn fiber can support cognitive function beyond digestive health benefits.
So Claire, thank you so much for joining us and just diving right into it.
Your study found that soluble corn fiber actually improved response times and cognitive tests.
What findings surprised you the most?
Thanks, Benjamin.
It's great to be with you.
This is about a study that we've recently published that investigated the impact of Prometol soluble corn fiber consumption on cognitive functions and gut microbiota in middle aged and older healthy adults.
So the study was peer reviewed and published.
It was conducted by the University of Illinois.
And it found that consuming 22 g a day of Prometol soluble corn fiber for 4 weeks improved response times in middle aged to older adults, when they performed various cognitive tests.
So the assumption, the consumption was associated with significant improvement, specifically in attentional inhibition.
Which is an executive function which measures the ability to stay focused.
And it's a core skill that actually tends to naturally gradually decline with aging, unfortunately.
So what surprised us the most was how clear and consistent the improvement was that we saw.
People reacted faster on challenging attention tasks, and yet they didn't lose any accuracy.
So it wasn't just quick guessing, it really was better cognitive control.
And to see this happening in adults that are slightly older after only 4 weeks at a very practical daily dose was genuinely striking.
And what's important is this isn't an isolated finding, it, it really adds to a growing body of evidence to show how targeted fiber consumption can support aspects of brain related performance by influencing the gut microbiota.
And can you talk about the specific gut microbe responsible for these improvements and what you discovered about its role?
Of course, yeah, one of the most interesting findings was the consistent increase in Pabacteroides, a bacterial genus that's previously been associated with anti-inflammatory effects, as as gut barrier support and the production of bioactive metabolites relevant to gut-brain communication.
In this study, it didn't show that parabacterioides caused the cognitive improvement, but we did see an association.
So participants who showed even small increases in that bacterial group tended to experience greater gains in attentional inhibition.
So that suggests that the parabacteroides play a supportive role in how certain fibers influence the, the gut brain axis.
It also reinforces the idea that not all fibers interact with the microbiota in the same way, which is a really emerging area of interest in nutrition science.
And what are you observing about the evolving market presence of fiber claims leaning more toward cognitive brain benefits?
We're seeing a clear shift.
Traditionally, fiber has been positioned primarily for digestive health, but today emerging scientific evidence on the gut-brain axis is opening doors to a broader wellness territories such as focus, mental clarity, healthy aging, even stress management.
Notably, a 2025 Mintel study indicated that 1 in 5 Europeans now seek fiber in their food and drinks for cognitive health support.
So consumers also are increasingly interested in benefits they can feel in everyday life, and cognitive support really ranks highly across markets, with this need only really intensifying over time.
So these trends are being supported by rising product launches.
If we think about some of the health forwards stackable items, bars and bites and functional and nutritional drinks, we're seeing it a lot in terms of increases in launches.
And the Promatol soluble fiber, new cognitive findings that we're talking about today really gives formulators a credible science-led story in a space that is still emerging and full of opportunity.
And why do you think that global fiber intake is still so low despite the growing body of research?
Despite the strong scientific evidence behind fiber intake remains low for several reasons.
Firstly, consumer behavior is notoriously hard to shift.
So even when people know that fiber is good for them, most still struggle to eat enough fruits and veg.
The whole 5 a day message isn't yet met.
Whole grains, legumes, you know, there's so many options that people can consume to meet those daily recommendations, and yet they're not doing it yet.
Modeling data from multiple countries shows that dietary changes alone aren't actually going to be enough to close that fiber gap between what we're consuming and what we should be consuming.
So fortification is going to play a critical role.
And then secondly, there's a major awareness gap.
So in the UK for example, the Food and Drink Federation research from last year showed that only 7% of people know how much fiber they should be getting each day, with the average Brit believing they only need 12.4 g a day, when actually the recommendation is 30.
So you'll see there's a vast difference between understanding.
Consumers are increasingly searching for benefits.
We know that like gut health, prebiotics, cognitive focus, healthy microbiome, but sadly many don't realize that fiber is one of the drivers behind those health benefits.
So we've got some work to do to help people's understanding.
Finally, fiber is still one of the least intuitive nutrients for consumers to track, and we didn't really like to talk about it until now.
You know, unlike protein or sugar, it doesn't have obvious sensory cues and you don't tend to taste fiber.
If you do, there's probably something wrong with the formulation.
So you know that makes fortified everyday foods a really highly effective way to help people increase intake without requiring lifestyle changes if we get that fortification right.
And that's where ingredients like Prometol soluble fiber can make a difference.
It's got excellent tolerance, it's solubility, it's sensory neutrality.
It means it can be added to many foods and and beverages that consumers are already enjoying every day, and it can really help to close that fiber gap in a practical and accessible way.
In terms of product applications, what type of new nutritional products is your fiber ingredient best positioned for?
One of Prometol's greatest strengths is its versatility.
It has got great solubility, it's got clean taste, and it's exceptional digestive tolerance.
So it can be used across virtually all food and beverage categories, including those where high fiber fortification has historically been challenging.
It doesn't have to just be nutrition forward products.
It's ideal for many formats where consumers are increasingly looking for functional benefits, such as functional beverages, where it's best in class solubility comes to the fore.
Active aging and brain health products driven by the interest in cognitive support and obviously supported by the results that we've been talking about today.
Nutrition bars on the go snacks where tolerance is really critical, and then finally better for you reformulations across all categories.
So I would say, so with growing interest in gut health, prebiotics, cognition and the gut-brain axis, Promator's so positioned to support new functional launches that provide real evidence-based benefits while maintaining great taste and consumer experience.
