Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to
prune juice and maintenance of normal bowel function (ID 1166) pursuant
to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006[sup]1[/sup]
EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA)2, 3
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Parma, Italy
Słowa kluczowe:
Prune juice
bowel function
health claims
1. Charakterystyka żywności / składnika
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Prawidłowe funkcjonowanie jelit
The food/food constituent that is the subject of the claim is prune juice.
A prune is any of a variety of plum species. A plum is a stone fruit in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus, section Prunus (Old World plums). Most “plums” and “prunes” belong to the species Prunus domestica L. The species is not homogenous and comprises many cultivars. More than 1000 cultivars of plums are grown for drying, but only some cultivars of plum are called prunes when fresh or dried, others have always been called “dried plums” when dried. Prunes are characterised by a relatively small size, an oval shape, an easily removed pit (“free-stone plums”) and high sugar content. Thus, all prunes are plums, but not all plums are prunes (fresh or dried).
Prune juice is made by boiling dried prunes in water until the soluble solids content is 18.5 %. Pits and remaining solids are removed by a filter (Stacewicz-Sapuntzakis et al., 2001). In contrast to prunes, prune juice is virtually devoid of dietary fibre. The content of water, total carbohydrates, protein, fat, and amino acids, as well as a number of different sugars, minerals, vitamins, carotenoids, organic acids, and phenolic compounds are given in the literature (Stacewicz-Sapuntzakis et al., 2001; Dikeman et al., 2004). There are different types of commercial preparations labelled prune juice. Notably, the term prune juice is sometimes used also for composite products with prune puree and sometimes other juices and ingredients. Prune juice is considered sufficiently characterised, but only when the term is used for a water extract of dried prunes as indicated above, with solids removed by filtering (Stacewicz-Sapuntzakis et al., 2001).
The Panel considers that the food/food constituent, prune juice, which is the subject of the health claim is sufficiently characterised.
2. Znaczenie oświadczenia dla zdrowia człowieka
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Prawidłowe funkcjonowanie jelit
The claimed effect is “normal bowel function/normal gastrointestinal function/normal colonic function”. The Panel assumes that the target population is the general population.
In the context of the proposed wording, the Panel assumes that the claimed effect refers to aspects of: “maintenance of bowel regularity, and laxative effect”. Changes in bowel function within the normal
range e.g. reduced transit time, increased frequency of bowel movements or bulk of stools might be interpreted as improvement of bowel function.
The Panel considers that maintenance of normal bowel function might be a beneficial physiological effect.
3. Naukowe uzasadnienia wpływu na zdrowie człowieka - Prawidłowe funkcjonowanie jelit
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Prawidłowe funkcjonowanie jelit
Ten references were cited to substantiate the claimed effect, of which three were human intervention studies and seven provided background information.
Three papers (Lucas et al, 2004; Tinker et al., 1991; Piirainen et al., 2007) reported on human intervention studies of the effects of prune preparations (dried prunes and a mixture of plum juice concentrate, prune puree and water sweetened with fructose (7 %)) on bowel function in healthy individuals or individuals with mild gastrointestinal symptoms or hypercholesterolaemia. Prune juice was used in none of the three intervention studies. The Panel considers that no conclusions can be drawn from these references for the scientific substantiation of the claimed effect.
One reference was a general review of the evaluation and treatment of constipation in children, two were reviews of carbohydrates in human nutrition and of tolerance of low-digestible carbohydrates, one was a listing of plant-based medications, one was a listing of fruit portion sizes, one was a review of carbohydrate composition of plum and prune preparations (Dikeman et al., 2004), and one was an extensive review of chemical composition and potential health effects of prunes and prune juice (Stacewicz-Sapuntzakis et al., 2001). The Panel notes that these references did not provide data that could be used for the scientific substantiation of the claimed effect.
Overall, no evidence was provided on prune juice for the scientific substantiation of the claimed effect. Three human intervention studies cited used interventions other than prune juice, and the other references provided only various, general background information and did not provide data that could be used for the scientific substantiation of the claimed effect.
The Panel concludes that a cause and effect relationship has not been established between the consumption of prune juice and maintenance of normal bowel function.
Wnioski
On the basis of the data presented, the Panel concludes that:
The food/food constituent, prune juice, which is the subject of the health claim is sufficiently characterised.
The claimed effect is “normal bowel function/normal gastrointestinal function/normal colonic function”. The target population is assumed to be the general population. Maintenance of normal bowel function might be a beneficial physiological effect.
A cause and effect relationship has not been established between the consumption of prune juice and maintenance of normal bowel function.