Prune

Studies in people

• Benefit

  Bone strength in older women³

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

• Benefit

  Bone health in women⁴

  Prunes may help postmenopausal women keep bone strength, but scientists say longer studies are needed to be sure.

• Benefit

  Constipation and stool habits⁵

  In people with constipation, eating prunes helped them go more often and made stools softer than psyllium did.

• Benefit

  Appetite and blood sugar⁶

  Prunes may help you feel full and keep blood sugar steadier after eating.

• Benefit

  Stool output and gut comfort⁷

  In people with infrequent stools, eating prunes increased stool weight and frequency, and caused more flatulence.

• Benefit

  Liver blood test results⁸

  In people, eating prunes daily for 8 weeks lowered two liver blood test results.

• Benefit

  Postmenopausal inflammation⁹

  In postmenopausal women, eating prunes daily for a year lowered some signs of inflammation in their blood cells.

• Benefit

  Constipation relief¹⁰

  In people with chronic constipation, prune juice increased normal stools and eased complaints of hard stools.

• Benefit

  Gut bacteria and cholesterol¹¹

  In people, prune essence raised good gut bacteria and lowered total and LDL cholesterol.

• Benefit

  Bone health after menopause¹³

  In postmenopausal women, eating dried plums daily raised two markers linked to bone building, though longer studies are needed.

• No harm found

  Bone density in older men¹⁴

  In older men, eating prunes daily for a year did not improve bone density beyond calcium and vitamin D.

• Benefit

  Appetite and fullness¹⁶

  People who snacked on dried prunes before a meal ate less dessert and felt fuller.

• Benefit

  Cholesterol and bowel habits¹⁷

  In men with mildly high cholesterol, eating 12 prunes daily lowered LDL cholesterol and increased stool weight.

• Benefit

  Hip bone strength¹⁸

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

• Benefit

  Bone health in men¹⁹

  In men, eating 100 g of dried plum daily for a year had small bone-protective effects, though bone density did not change.

Animal and lab studies only

• Open question

  Colon tumor growth²²

  In animal studies, eating prunes did not shrink colon tumors, though it changed gut bacteria and boosted helpful acids.

Study type not stated

• Benefit

  Bone loss after menopause²⁰

  Prunes may help protect bones in older women, but scientists do not yet know how they affect inflammation in people.

• Benefit

  Blood sugar response²¹

  Prunes may not cause a quick rise in blood sugar, possibly because of their fiber, fructose, and sorbitol.

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.

• Chemical formed during drying²³

  Prunes and prune juice can contain acrylamide, a chemical that forms when plums are dried or boiled.

How it’s made and used

• How the body handles it¹²

  In people, dried plum juice and dried plums made 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furfural break down into four substances found in urine.

• Gut bacteria in older women¹⁵

  In postmenopausal women, eating prunes for a year changed the mix of gut bacteria.

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.