Other Sweeteners - Sweeteners: Nutritional Aspects, Applications, and Production Technology - page 187

• Labelbeneit

• Increaseinshelflife

• Naturalcolor

• Varietyinviscosity

• Easyuseandeasypreservation

Maintainingdigestivehealthisvitaltoachievingoverallwellness.Prunes,whicharethedried
fruitofvariousplumspecies,primarilytheEuropeanplumorPrunusdomestica,havebeenknown
sincebiblicaltimesfortheirbeneitsinsupportingdigestivehealth.
Prunejuiceisricheriniber—bothsolubleandinsoluble—thanplumjuiceandisoftenmar-
ketedasaremedyforconstipationandforhelpwithkidneystones.Insolubleiberhelpsspeedfood
throughthedigestivetract.Solubleiber,ontheotherhand,isaslowermovingiber,goodforlower-
ingcholesterolandregulatingblood-sugarlevels.
Prunejuiceconcentrateismadefromthehigh-volume,low-temperaturewaterextractofprunes.
Pruneconcentrateisobtainedbythevacuumevaporationofthewater-solubleportionofprunesto
aconcentrationofabout70%solubletodissolublematter.
Prunesarealsohighinpolyphenols,whichincludeantioxidantsthatprotectcellulardeoxyribo-
nucleicacidagainstdamage,decreaseinlammation,andmayhelppreventcancer.Pruneconcen-
trateactsasanaturallaxativebystimulatatingperistalsis(movementofthemusclesinthedigestive
tract) in the colon, thereby aiding the process of elimination. Prune concentrate promotes bowel
movementandisbelievedtohelpregulatebowelfunction.
Interestingly,ina1990announcementthatcameasashocktomillionsofAmericans,theU.S.
FoodandDrugAdministration(FDA)declaredthatthecommonprunewasnotaneffectivelaxa-
tive.Inreality,thiswasnottobeinterpretedtomeanthatprunesorpruneconcentratedonothave
laxativepropertieswhentakenasfoods;rather,thecasehereisthattheFDAnolongerregardsthem
aseffectiveasadrug(Oiyeva2011).
Cannedorbottledjuiceispreparedfromawaterextractofdriedplumsandcontainsnotless
than18.5%bytheweightofwater-solublesolidsextractedfromdriedplums.Juiceconcentratehas
beenshowntobeaneffectivenaturalmoldinhibitorinbreadwhileprovidingtheaddedbeneits
ofnaturalcolor,improvedlavor,andbettertexture.Thejuicemaycontainoneormoreoptional
acidifying ingredients—lemon juice, lime juice, or citric acid—in a quantity suficient to render
thefoodslightlytart.Itmayalsocontainhoneyinaquantitynotlessthan2%ormorethan3%by
weightandmaycontainvitaminC,notlessthan30mgormorethan50mgper6-ozservingofthe
inishedfood.
Juiceconcentrateisaviscousformofjuice,packedata70°Bxminimum,exceptforhigherBrix
packsforexportshipmentsoronspecialorders.Nopreservativesareaddedtothejuiceconcen-
trate,asthe70°Bxlevelproductisselfpreserving.Theweightof70°Bxconcentrateis11.25lb/gal
(1.348 kg/L).
Somedriedplumandfreshplumjuiceandconcentratescanbeusedinmeatandpoultryappli-
cationstoretainmoisture,suppressthegrowthofsomepathogens,andextendshelflife.Thespeci-
icationsofplumjuiceconcentrateareshowninTable7.3.
Prunes (a natural laxative) are plums that have been picked prior to full maturation and dehy-
drated. Although prunes are approximately 6% iber, prune juice concentrate lacks the same iber
contentaccordingtoHealthDirectories( http://www.health-directories.com/constipation-prunejuice.
html .Interestingly,thislackofiberinprunejuicedoesnotdiminishitsabilitytopromoteregularity.
Accordingto HealthDirectories, prunes promote the regularityof the bowels because of the
activelithocholicacid.Prunesarehighinsorbitol,whichisnoteasilydigested,therebyremaining
undigestedinthegut.Theundigestedsorbitolcauseswaterretention,whichsoftensthestool,mak-
ingforaneasierelimination.Althoughprunesaidinregularity,theyarenotthecure-allforsevere
constipation( http://www.ehow.com/about_6712505_prune-senna-chronic-constipation.html ) .