A customer recently contacted us at MagicDichol® after reading research linking xanthan gum to bowel inflammation in rats. Having noticed xanthan gum among the ingredients in our NANO SOMA® topical products, they asked a reasonable question: should this finding change how they feel about using the gel or cream?
It is a question worth answering carefully. Ingredient names can connect two very different situations in our minds. Yet an ingredient eaten regularly and brought into contact with intestinal bacteria is not experiencing the same conditions as an ingredient applied to the skin.
The most useful reassurance comes from understanding those differences: what the study investigated, what xanthan gum actually is, and how its role differs from that of the Metadichol® particles in NANO SOMA.
What the research found
The study, published in PLOS One in April 2026, involved 32 adult male rats. For ten weeks, the animals received either a control diet or a diet containing xanthan gum at one of three concentrations.
The researchers found inflammatory changes in the colons of the rats, including increased immune-cell infiltration and changes in inflammatory and intestinal-barrier markers. Some bacterial changes were also observed. Importantly, inflammatory findings occurred at all three tested concentrations.
This was an animal feeding experiment. It did not investigate skin application, NANO SOMA Gel or NANO SOMA Cream, or the movement of xanthan gum from skin into blood or lymph. Nonetheless its findings deserve our attention, while their relevance to topical products would require a separate assessment. [1]
That distinction is central. A finding can be meaningful within the conditions of an experiment, but it won’t be answering every question about every product containing the same ingredient.
Swallowing xanthan gum and applying it to the skin are not the same
When we swallow an ingredient, we expose the digestive tract to it. When we apply a cream, we expose our skin to it. These are two different biological environments, with different barriers and different patterns of contact.
A useful question is therefore: where could the reported effect begin?
In the rat experiment, the investigation centred on the bowel. The study does not require us to assume that intact xanthan molecules travelled throughout the body tissues before the intestinal changes appeared. Contact within the gut is itself an exposure worth studying.
This also explains why “poorly absorbed” and “unable to influence the bowel” are not interchangeable statements.
The European Food Safety Authority’s assessment describes xanthan gum as unlikely to be absorbed intact and notes that intestinal microorganisms can ferment it. Those observations help explain its digestive fate; they do not mean that every possible local intestinal effect has been entirely ruled out. [2]
For someone using a topical gel or cream, however, the feeding study leaves a substantial gap between the (intestinal) exposure investigated and the (skin) exposure our customer was asking about. We should acknowledge that difference before drawing conclusions.
What molecule size means for healthy skin
Xanthan gum is made of polysaccharide molecules: long chains built from repeating sugar-based units. (The word “sugar” here describes its chemical building blocks, rather than implying that a cream contains ordinary table sugar. – ed.) Its long chains give it useful thickening and stabilising properties.
In a topical formulation, xanthan gum helps control consistency and stabilise the product. Our NANO SOMA Topical Gel’s ingredient list includes xanthan gum as a thickener, while our NANO SOMA Skin Cream uses the gel as a base to add moisturisers. [3,4]
To understand its size, scientists commonly refer to molecular weight. Xanthan gum weighs 1-2 million daltons. (A dalton is a unit of molecular mass, rather than a measurement of diameter.) [2]
Healthy skin is an effective barrier. Its outermost layer, called the stratum corneum, limits the movement of substances from the outer surface into living tissue by what dermatologists call the “500-dalton rule”, i.e. molecules smaller than 500 dalton generally have a better prospect of passive penetration through intact skin than much larger ones. [5]
At 1-2 million dalton, xanthan gum’s molecular mass is far beyond that 500-dalton scale. Taken together, its large polymer structure, and the protective barrier properties of intact skin, support the expectation that passive penetration of intact xanthan gum through healthy skin will be very limited. This is a reasoned expectation, rather than a measurement of absorption from our finished products.
That is the appropriate level of reassurance. There is no need to imagine a gel or cream’s thickener automatically circulating through the body simply because the product spreads smoothly or seems to disappear from the surface of your skin.
The independent Cosmetic Ingredient Review assessment included xanthan gum among microbial polysaccharide gums considered safe under the cosmetic uses and concentrations reviewed. This supports its established cosmetic role, although it is not a specific test for NANO SOMA Topica Gel or Skin Cream, nor of application to open wounds. [6]
How this compares with Metadichol®
NANO SOMA’s active ingredient, Metadichol, is described in its research literature as a nanoemulsion of policosanols having particles below 60 nanometres. A nanometre is one billionth of a metre. [7]
Here, the measurement describes the dimensions of dispersed particles. With xanthan gum, the commonly quoted number describes the molecular mass of a polymer chain. These are different measurements of different structures. We cannot convert one into the other and confidently announce that xanthan gum is a particular number of times larger than Metadichol.
A more useful comparison concerns their roles. Metadichol supplies the lipid-based component of NANO SOMA; xanthan gum contributes to the topical formulation’s consistency. Putting them together does not establish that they have the same dimensions, movement or interaction with tissue.
This does not make the published figure unhelpful. It simply allows us to explain it accurately: Metadichol has been studied as a nanoscale dispersion, while xanthan gum is a large hydrated polymer used for a different purpose.
What about damaged or wounded skin?
This is where healthy skin, mildly irritated skin, and an open wound should not be treated as equivalent barriers.
A large polymer’s limited expected penetration through intact skin does not prove that it cannot enter exposed tissue under any circumstances. The cosmetic safety literature includes studies of other polysaccharides showing absorption through deliberately damaged skin, with absorption influenced by molecular size and the extent of damage. Those results are not measurements of xanthan gum, but they demonstrate why wounded skin needs its own assessment. [6]
An answer to a reasonable concern
My most reassuring explanation is therefore also the most accurate one. Eating xanthan gum, applying a thickener to skin and using a formulation containing nanoscale lipid particles are different exposures. We should understand each on its own terms.
Our customers are right to bring research questions to us. Our responsibility at MagicDichol is to read beyond the headline and explain what the evidence means for the situation they actually face in reality, and safely enjoy all the benefits of our NANO SOMA family of products.
Dr Roland
References
- Silva Rischiteli and colleagues. Xanthan gum intake modifies the colon microbiota profile and causes mild colon inflammation in rats. PLOS One, 2026.
- EFSA. Re-evaluation of xanthan gum (E 415) as a food additive, 2017.
- NANO SOMA Skin Cream: published ingredient list.
- MagicDichol product FAQs.
- Bos and Meinardi. The 500 Dalton rule for the skin penetration of chemical compounds and drugs, 2000.
- Fiume and colleagues. Safety Assessment of Microbial Polysaccharide Gums as Used in Cosmetics, 2016.
- Raghavan. Improving Longevity with Metadichol by Inhibiting the BCAT1 Gene, 2017.
- Size-dependent penetration of nanoemulsions into epidermis and hair follicles, 2017.
Are You Ready To See What It Can Do For You?
Tap the button below and discover how you can!
*These statements have not been evaluated by the US Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose or prescribe for any medical condition, nor to prevent, treat, mitigate, or cure such condition(s). If you have any illness or medical condition, consult your healthcare provider.