Plum

Studies in people

• Benefit

  Bone strength in older women²

  Eating prunes may slightly help spine bone density in older women, but scientists do not yet know if this matters.

• Benefit

  Constipation and stool habits³

  In people who were constipated, eating prunes improved how often they went and how soft their stools were.

• No harm found

  Weight, blood pressure and inflammation⁴

  Eating plums made no real difference to weight, blood pressure or inflammation in the studies looked at.

• Benefit

  Bone loss in women⁵

  In a 3-month trial, postmenopausal women who ate dried plum daily showed higher markers of bone building.

• Benefit

  Bone loss after menopause⁶

  In women past menopause, eating dried plum daily helped keep bone density, and some benefit lasted years later.

• Benefit

  Bone health in women⁷

  Dried plums may help postmenopausal women keep bone strength, though scientists say more studies are needed to be sure.

• No harm found

  Bone strength in cancer survivors⁸

  In breast cancer survivors, eating dried plum with weight training did not change bone density or inflammation.

• Open question

  Cholesterol and inflammation⁹

  In postmenopausal women, dried plum did not clearly change cholesterol, though it lowered some inflammation markers.

• Benefit

  Bone health after menopause¹⁰

  In postmenopausal women, dried plums raised two markers linked to new bone growth, though longer studies are needed.

• Benefit

  Hip bone strength¹²

  In women past menopause, eating 50 g of prunes daily helped keep hip bone density steady.

• Benefit

  Bone health in men¹³

  In men, eating dried plum daily for a year showed modest bone-protective effects, though bone density itself did not change.

Animal and lab studies only

• Open question

  Cancer prevention¹⁷

  Most studies on plum and cancer were done in test tubes, so scientists do not yet know if plums help people.

• Benefit

  Colon tumor growth¹⁸

  In animal studies, eating prunes did not change colon tumor numbers, though gut bacteria and fermentation improved.

Study type not stated

• Benefit

  Heart, bones and memory¹⁴

  Plums may help memory, bones and heart health, but scientists say the evidence is still weak and needs more studies.

• Open question

  Anthocyanins and health effects¹⁵

  Japanese plums, especially blood plums, contain anthocyanins that scientists are studying for health effects in the body.

Found in some samples or products

These come from where it was grown, how it was processed or cooked, or what it was made into. They are not about the ingredient itself, so the signal does not count them.

• Fruit seeds and cyanide¹⁶

  Plum seeds hold cyanide-releasing compounds, and scientists still don't know how levels change during storage.

• Sulfite residue in dried fruit¹⁹

  In lab studies, sulfite residue in dried plums killed cells from both leukemia and normal fibroblast cell lines.

Allergies and intolerances

These are about people with an allergy, an intolerance or coeliac disease. The signal is about the ingredient itself, and these are about the person eating it, so the signal does not count them.

• Fruit allergy reactions¹¹

  Plum allergy comes from a protein in plum that is very like the one in peach.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.