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Plant Source Foods
Published in Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy, Food and Lifestyle in Health and Disease, 2022
Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy
Prunes are dried plums. After harvest, prune-making plums are dehydrated in hot air at 85 to 90°C for 18h, then further processed into prune juice, puree, or other prune products. Most dried prunes are produced from the plum cultivar Agen, which originated in France and California. Dried prunes contain about 6.1g of dietary fiber per 100g, while prune juice is devoid of fiber due to filtration before bottling (101). The laxative action of both prune and prune juice could be explained by their high sorbitol content (14.7 and 6.1g/100g, respectively). Three to six dried prunes a day may prevent constipation. Prunes are a good source of energy in the form of simple sugars, but do not cause diabetes because of high fiber, fructose, and sorbitol content. Prunes contain large amounts of phenolic compounds (184mg/100g), mainly as neochlorogenic and chlorogenic acids, which may aid in laxative action and delay glucose absorption (101). Phenolic compounds in prunes have been found to inhibit human LDL (bad cholesterol) oxidation in vitro, and thus might serve as preventive agents against heart disease and cancer. Additionally, the high potassium content of prunes (745mg/100g) might be beneficial for cardiovascular health. Dried prunes are an important source of vitamin K and boron. Boron, a metalloid, is postulated to play a role in the prevention of osteoporosis (101).
Prenatal Care
Published in Vincenzo Berghella, Obstetric Evidence Based Guidelines, 2022
Gabriele Saccone, Kerri Sendek
Constipation is common in pregnancy, probably because of decreased bowel peristalsis (possibly related to increased progesterone). Constipation is reported by nearly 70% of women in the mid-trimester. In nonpregnant adults, exercise, increase in water intake, dietary counseling, and certain foods (e.g., prunes) have been shown to relieve constipation. If these self-help measures are inadequate, the pregnant woman should then try daily bran or wheat fiber supplements. There is insufficient evidence to comprehensively assess the effectiveness and safety of interventions (pharmacological and nonpharmacological) for treating constipation in pregnancy, due to limited data (few studies with small sample size and no meta-analyses). Compared with bulk-forming laxatives, stimulant laxatives (e.g., senna 14 mg or dioctyl sodium succinate 120 mg and dihydroxyanthraquinone 100 mg—Normax) appear to be more effective in improving constipation (moderate-quality evidence), but are accompanied by an increase in diarrhea and abdominal discomfort. Docusate sodium is a similar stimulant laxative, and it is widely available. Additionally, dietary fiber supplements (e.g., 10 mg/day of either corn-based biscuits—Fibermed—or 23 g wheat bran) increase the frequency of defecation and are associated with softer stools [139]. These findings in pregnant women are consistent with nonpregnant evidence.
Infant Nutrition: The First Two Years
Published in Fima Lifshitz, Childhood Nutrition, 2020
Arturo R. Hervada, Maria Hervada-Page
Recently Vega Franco12 has demystified the questionable therapeutic properties of the apple. In truth, apple juice, especially when drunk in large amounts, can produce diarrhea in infants and toddlers.13,14 This effect was assumed to be due to the sorbitol (3 g/L) present in apple juice. Recent work using breath H2 tests has shown, however, that diarrhea is caused by the high content of fructose in apple juice (64 g/L).15 On the other hand, it now appears that sorbitol may be the carbohydrate responsible for the laxative effects of prunes, owing to the large amount (23 g/L) present in this fruit.15
An overview of the efficacy and safety of prucalopride for the treatment of chronic idiopathic constipation
Published in Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy, 2019
Marzieh Daniali, Shekoufeh Nikfar, Mohammad Abdollahi
The general approach to treat constipation totally depends on the reason of constipation and initially is limited to lifestyle modifications such as dietary changes (fiber: 20 to 35 g/day) and daily exercise. Additionally, in the second step different types of laxatives such as bulk-forming (psyllium and methylcellulose), osmotic laxatives (PEG and lactulose) or saline laxatives (milk of magnesia) are recommended [53–55]. A randomized clinical trial was performed to compare the efficacy of bulk-forming laxatives like psyllium and prunes (dried plums), and evaluated that both laxatives are well tolerated but prunes are more efficient [56]. The next pharmacotherapy line concludes guanylate cyclase-C (GCC) agonists like linaclotide or plecanatide (mechanism: stimulation of intestinal secretion fluid [55] and amelioration of abdominal discomfort [53]) or prokinetics such as prucalopride [9,57].
Use of sorbitol as pharmaceutical excipient in the present day formulations – issues and challenges for drug absorption and bioavailability
Published in Drug Development and Industrial Pharmacy, 2019
Ranjeet Prasad Dash, Nuggehally R. Srinivas, R. Jayachandra Babu
Sugar alcohols, because of being produced from their respective aldose sugars, are also known as alditols. These are low molecular weight easily digestible carbohydrates obtained by substituting the aldehyde group with a hydroxyl group [1]. Primarily, sugar alcohols are classified as hydrogenated monosaccharides (sorbitol, mannitol), hydrogenated disaccharides (isomalt, maltitol, lactitol), and mixtures of hydrogenated mono, di, and/or oligosaccharides (hydrogenated starch hydrolysates) [2]. Amongst these sugar alcohols, sorbitol (Figure 1) has gained significant attention in the past few years because of its wide usage as a pharmaceutical excipient and its influence on the disposition and pharmacokinetics of certain drugs. Sorbitol (i.e. d-glucitol) is a six-carbon sugar alcohol that was discovered by a French chemist in the berries of the mountain ash in 1872. It is also found in fresh fruits such as apples, pears, peaches, apricots and nectarines as well as in dried fruits, such as prunes, dates, raisins, and in some vegetables [3]. Chemically, sorbitol can be produced from glucose or sucrose, by hydrogenation at high temperature [4]. Sorbitol can also be produced by bacteria such as Zymomonas mobilis and Candida boidini, by an enzymatic process [5,6].
Augmented photocatalytic, antibacterial and antifungal activity of prunosynthetic silver nanoparticles
Published in Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology, 2018
Shaan Bibi Jaffri, Khuram Shahzad Ahmad
Prunus cerasifera Ehrh, cherry plum is an angiospermic plant belonging to family Rosaceae, bears edible fruits widely used in making jams compotes, cognac and champagne [11]. Whole plant is also used as cure for various ailments. All prune fruits are reservoirs of phytochemicals of antioxidizing nature [12]. The present study has prunosynthesized the BSNPs from reducing agents found in P. cerasifera fruit extract (PCFE) for the first time. Prunosynthesis has been carried out in direct sunlight as well as dark. Novel prunosynthetic BSNPs were applied for the photocatalytic dye degradation (PDD). Foreseen potential of BSNPs for conversion into a “green” bactericide and fungicide was tested against pathogenic bacteria and fungi. Furthermore, prunosynthesized BSNPs were analysed via UV–vis, FTIR, XRD, TGA, SEM and GCMS.