Prunes could reduce bowel cancer risk

Eating prunes regularly could help reduce the risk of bowel cancer, experts have found.

The dried fruit, rich in phenols, attacks cancer-causing free radicals and promotes 'good' bacteria in the gut, helping cut the risk of colon cancer.

Bowel cancer is one of the most common types of cancer diagnosed in the UK, with around 40,000 new cases diagnosed every year and 16,000 deaths.

The NHS said about one in every 20 people in the UK will develop bowel cancer during their lifetime.

Between seven and eight in every 10 people with bowel cancer live at least one year after diagnosis and more than half of live at least another 10 years.

Professor Dr Nancy Turner Texas A&M University said: “Through our research, we were able to show that dried plums promote retention of beneficial bacteria throughout the colon, and by doing so they may reduce the risk of colon cancer.”

Changing diets can alter the metabolism and composition of colon microbiota, which has major implications for disease prevention and treatment.

There are trillions of bacteria in the intestinal tract and so far more than 400 individual species have been identified.

Past studies found disruptions to the microbiota are involved in the initiation of intestinal inflammation and recurrence of inflammatory bouts that can promote development of colon cancer.

Prof Turner added: “Our research explored the potential cancer-protective properties of dried plums using a well-established rat model of colon cancer.

“Dried plums contain phenolic compounds, which have multiple effects on our health, including their ability to serve as antioxidants that can neutralize the oxidant effect of free radicals that can damage our DNA.

“The hypothesis we tested in this experiment was that consumption of dried plums would promote retention of beneficial microbiota and patterns of microbial metabolism throughout the colon.

“If it did this, then it might also help reduce the risk of colon cancer.”

The study involved feeding lab rats a normal diet or a diet containing prunes and then examining the contents and tissue along the whole bowel.

Prof Turner said while additional research is needed, particularly in human studies, the results from this study are exciting because they suggest that regularly eating dried plums may be a viable dietary strategy to help reduce the risk of colon cancer.

The research funded by the California Dried Plum Board was presented at the 2015 Experimental Biology conference in Boston.

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