Prune Juice Has a Mild Laxative Effect in Adults with Certain Gastrointestinal Symptoms

JOURNAL: Nutrition Research 27 (2007): 511-513.

AUTHORS: Piirainen, L., Peuhkuri, K., Bäckström, K., Korpela, R, and Salminen, S.

The study was undertaken to investigate whether prune juice affects gastrointestinal function in adults with certain gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. Subjects were otherwise healthy but had certain GI symptoms not as severe as a disorder. The study was for 4 weeks; 1 week baseline, 2 weeks prune juice, and 1 week follow up. Subjects drank 125 mL prune juice twice a day during the prune juice period. Results indicate that prune juice reduced the occurrence of difficulty in defecation in these subjects and the effect continued to the follow-up week. The authors concluded that regularly ingested prune juice had a mild laxative effect in adults with certain GI symptoms; however, prune juice also increased flatulence. Prune juice may offer a user-friendly alternative to laxatives, at least in cases of mild constipation.