Benefits
Supports a gentle, sustained prebiotic effect
The intact whole-food fiber matrix is designed to ferment slowly and steadily rather than all at once, which in gut-model testing produced a gradual, long-lasting prebiotic response. This slower pace is intended to support the microbiome while being gentler than fast-fermenting purified fibers.
Promotes short-chain fatty acid production
When gut bacteria ferment the fibers, they release short-chain fatty acids such as acetate, propionate, and butyrate. In a validated gut simulator, NatureKnit supported greater total SCFA output than the purified fibers inulin and psyllium, helping nourish the cells lining the colon.
Helps maintain microbiome abundance and diversity
In gut-model work, NatureKnit increased the overall abundance of bacteria and the richness of bacterial types present compared with a control and with purified fibers, supporting a more diverse and active community of beneficial gut microbes.
Delivers fiber together with plant polyphenols
Because the fibers are whole-food and minimally processed, they carry naturally bound polyphenols from the source fruits and vegetables into the colon. This pairing supplies both prebiotic fiber and plant compounds to the lower gut in a single, upcycled ingredient.
Mechanism of action
Slow colonic fermentation of an intact fiber matrix
Rather than a single isolated polysaccharide, NatureKnit supplies a structurally complex mix of soluble and insoluble plant fibers. This heterogeneity slows microbial breakdown, producing a steady drop in luminal pH and gradual gas generation over 48 hours in the M-SHIME model instead of a rapid early burst.
Cross-feeding and SCFA generation
Saccharolytic bacteria ferment the fibers into acetate, propionate, and butyrate. Butyrate is a primary energy source for colonocytes and helps maintain gut barrier integrity, while the acidified environment favors beneficial taxa over acid-sensitive species.
Fiber-bound polyphenol delivery
Polyphenols physically bound within the plant cell-wall matrix largely escape absorption in the upper gut and reach the colon with the fiber, where microbial enzymes can release and metabolize them, adding a polyphenol substrate to the fermentation alongside the fiber.
Clinical trials
In vitro / ex vivo M-SHIME gut-model study using fecal inoculum from three healthy human donors; NOT a human ingestion trial (Govaert et al., 2025, Microorganisms). NatureKnit product dosed at 3.333 g/L (1.667 g fiber/L), fiber-matched against inulin and psyllium over 48 hours.
Colonic simulation seeded with stool from 3 healthy adult donors
NatureKnit fermented more slowly and steadily than inulin or psyllium, produced greater total short-chain fatty acid output, drove the strongest sustained pH decrease, and yielded higher bacterial abundance and richness than the purified fibers and control. Findings are from a lab gut model, not from people taking the product.
In vitro / ex vivo M-SHIME gut-model study, a follow-up on the organic version of the ingredient; NOT a human ingestion trial (Govaert et al., 2025, Frontiers in Nutrition). Compared against purified organic fibers using fecal inoculum from healthy donors.
Colonic simulation seeded with stool from healthy adult donors
Organic NatureKnit induced significant, sustained metabolic (fermentation) activity and modulated the microbiome more comprehensively than commonly used purified organic fibers, reproducing the gentle, sustained prebiotic pattern seen with the conventional version. Results come from a lab model rather than a clinical trial.