Dried plums and bone health across 24 studies
What it found
Dried plums may help bone density in postmenopausal women, and animal and cell studies suggest they help bone form and slow bone breakdown.
No adverse effects were reported in any of the 24 studies.
What they found
Studies in people
Bone density in women
In a clinical study of 160 randomised postmenopausal women not on hormone replacement therapy, two servings (100 g) of dried plums a day slowed bone turnover and helped improve bone mineral density. A later study by the same group found bone protective effects with one serving a day.
Total body bone density
Dried plum consumption at 50 to 100 g a day for six months prevented loss of total body bone mineral density, but not at the spine, hip or ulna. The authors suggest the shorter duration may explain this.
Bone markers in women
Some bone turnover markers improved in clinical studies, but results were not consistent. One study found increases in bone alkaline phosphatase, while a larger later study reported a decrease.
Animal and lab studies
Bone in animals
Animal studies in rats and mice found that dried plums and their polyphenol-rich extracts improved bone mineral density and bone biomarkers, and may help bone area and micro-architecture. These studies modelled conditions including before peak bone mass, pregnancy, post-menopause, osteopenia and osteoporosis.
How cells respond
Cell studies suggest dried plums and their extracts enhance bone formation and inhibit bone resorption by acting on cell signalling pathways that affect osteoblast and osteoclast differentiation.
Other findings
Nutrients in dried plums
One serving, about 4 dried plums, is 92 kilocalories and provides 2.4 g of dietary fiber, 280 mg of potassium and 22.8 µg of vitamin K. Dried plums contain phenolics such as chlorogenic acid, which may be partly responsible for their effects on bone.
What the authors conclude
“While the data are not completely consistent, this review suggests that postmenopausal women may safely consume dried plums as part of their fruit intake recommendations given their potential to have protective effects on bone loss.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that dried plums are an easy way to help meet daily fruit recommendations.
- They say the beneficial effects on bone health may be partly due to the unique variety of phenolics and nutrients in the fruit.
- They advise that long-term prospective cohort studies using fractures and bone mineral density as primary endpoints are needed to confirm the effects of smaller clinical, animal and mechanistic studies.
How it was done
Over half of Americans age 50 and older have osteoporosis or low bone mass, and fruit intake is below recommendations in groups where bone development and maintenance matter most.
The authors searched PubMed through 24 January 2017 for cell, animal, population and clinical studies on dried plums or their extracts and markers of bone health. They included 24 studies: four clinical trials, 16 animal studies in rats or mice, and three cell studies.
What it can’t tell you
- The clinical studies were short, lasting 3 to 12 months, which is a narrow window to see significant changes in bone mineral density.
- All four clinical studies came from the same laboratory group, so replication by other investigators is needed.
- No observational studies were found, so it is not known whether dried plums affect fracture risk in the general population.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The California Dried Plum Board had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; nor in the decision to publish the results. T.C.W. recused himself of all editorial involvement in the manuscript’s review process.
- Authors work at
- George Mason University, USA
The paper
- Title
- Dried Plums, Prunes and Bone Health: A Comprehensive Review
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Wallace TC (2017). Dried Plums, Prunes and Bone Health: A Comprehensive Review. Nutrients. doi:10.3390/nu9040401Free full textPubMed 28422064DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error