Kiwifruit Ingredients May Support Digestive Health

Green and gold kiwifruit supplements may enhance bowel function in healthy people, according to a new study published in Nutrition Research.

 Researchers in New Zealand found that daily supplementation with the kiwifruit ingredients increased weekly daily bowel movements by at least one per week in healthy people, although no significant effect was found in functionally constipated individuals.

The randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial involved 19 healthy participants aged 23-56 and nine functionally constipated participants aged 38-54. All participants consumed four dietary interventions for 28 days each, followed by a 14-day washout period to establish baseline measurements between interventions.  

The different interventions were 2400 mg/day of green kiwifruit ingredient Actazin, 600 mg/day of Actazin, 2400 mg/day of gold kiwifruit ingredient Gold, or 2400 mg/day of placebo. Actazin and Gold are supplied by Stratum Nutrition (St. Charles, MO) and Zespri (Mount Maunganui, New Zealand), respectively. The interventions consisted of four 600-mg capsules taken every morning.

Based on the results of a daily questionnaire by each participant on bowel movements and well being, healthy participants reported a significant increase in mean daily bowel movements during the 2400-mg Actazin and Gold interventions. Although stool frequency appeared to be positively affected by the kiwifruit ingredients, stool form was not affected, according to the researchers. The functionally constipated group reported no significant differences between interventions.

“Overall, the intake of Actazin (600 and 2400 mg/day) and Gold (2400 mg/day) was well tolerated, and Actazin-H [2400 mg/day] and Gold significantly increased daily bowel movements by more than one bowel movement per week,” said the researchers. They concluded that “these kiwifruit-derived supplements demonstrated a clinically meaningful increase in bowel movements in healthy individuals.”

Participants taking the lower daily doses of Actazin (600 mg) were just shy of reporting a statistically significant effect. But among a sub-group of healthy responders who did experience an increase of more than 1 bowel movement per week, the lower dose of Actazin was shown to have a significant effect on improving frequency of bowel movements.

Ansell J et al. “Kiwifruit-derived supplements increase stool frequency in healthy adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.” Nutrition Research. Published online April 11, 2015.

Michael Crane
Associate Editor
Nutritional Outlook Magazine
michael.crane@ubm.com

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