Prune juice is a

fruit juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat or seafood, such ...

derived from

prune A prune is a dried plum, most commonly from the European plum (''Prunus domestica'') tree. Not all plum species or varieties can be dried into prunes. Use of the term ''prune'' for fresh plums is obsolete except when applied to varieties of ...

s (dried

plum A plum is a fruit of some species in Prunus subg. Prunus, ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are often called prunes, though in the United States they may be labeled as 'dried plums', especially during the 21st century. Plums are ...

s) that have been rehydrated. It is mass-produced, usually via hot extraction, though juice concentrate is typically produced using a low-temperature method. It may be used as a

dietary supplement A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement a person's diet by taking a pill (pharmacy), pill, capsule (pharmacy), capsule, tablet (pharmacy), tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients eithe ...

to act as a

laxative Laxatives, purgatives, or aperients are substances that loosen stools and increase bowel movements. They are used to treat and prevent constipation. Laxatives vary as to how they work and the side effects they may have. Certain stimulant, lubri ...

. It is also sometimes used as a flavor enhancer in tobacco products. It is an ingredient in many cocktails, such as the Purple Dragon, or Constipolitan.

Composition

Prune juice is 81% water, 17%

carbohydrate A carbohydrate () is a biomolecule composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms. The typical hydrogen-to-oxygen atomic ratio is 2:1, analogous to that of water, and is represented by the empirical formula (where ''m'' and ''n'' ...

s, 0.6%

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

, and contains negligible

fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specif ...

. In the United States, bottled or canned prune juice contains "not less than 18.5% by the weight of water-soluble solids extracted from dried plums".

Nutrition

In a reference amount of , canned prune juice supplies 71

calorie The calorie is a unit of energy that originated from the caloric theory of heat. The large calorie, food calorie, dietary calorie, kilocalorie, or kilogram calorie is defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one liter o ...

s, and is a moderate source of

vitamin B6 Vitamin B6 is one of the B vitamins, and is an essential nutrient for humans. The term essential nutrient refers to a group of six chemically similar compounds, i.e., "vitamers", which can be interconverted in biological systems. Its active f ...

(17% of the

Daily Value In the U.S. and Canada, the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) is used in nutrition labeling on food and dietary supplement products to indicate the daily intake level of a nutrient that is considered to be sufficient to meet the requirements of 97� ...

), with no other

micronutrient Micronutrients are essential chemicals required by organisms in small quantities to perform various biogeochemical processes and regulate physiological functions of cells and organs. By enabling these processes, micronutrients support the heal ...

s in significant content (table).

Phytochemicals

Prune juice and plums contain

phytochemical Phytochemicals are naturally-occurring chemicals present in or extracted from plants. Some phytochemicals are nutrients for the plant, while others are metabolites produced to enhance plant survivability and reproduction. The fields of ext ...

s, including phenolic compounds (mainly as neochlorogenic acids and

chlorogenic acid Chlorogenic acid (CGA) is the ester of caffeic acid and quinic acid, functioning as an intermediate in lignin biosynthesis. The term chlorogenic acids refers to a related polyphenol family of esters, including hydroxycinnamic acids ( caffeic a ...

s) and

sorbitol Sorbitol (), less commonly known as glucitol (), is a sugar alcohol with a sweet taste which the human body metabolizes slowly. It can be obtained by reduction of glucose, which changes the converted aldehyde group (−CHO) to a primary alco ...

Production

Prune juice is often produced using hot extraction methods, whereby the prunes are cooked in hot water, becoming a liquid extract, which is then processed into juice. The process of heating and extraction may occur several times with the same batch of prunes, with the collective extracts from each processing then mixed together to create the final product. Prune juice is a

mass-produced Mass production, also known as mass production, series production, series manufacture, or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. ...

product. Prune juice is also produced as a

concentrate A concentrate is a form of Chemical substance, substance that has had the majority of its diluting agent or diluent (in the case of a liquid: the solvent) removed, such that the substance becomes the majority of the composition. Typically, this w ...

, whereby low temperature water is used to create a liquid extract. The concentrate has a high sugar content, and is used by food processors to enhance the flavor of and sweeten products, as a humectant to retain moisture in cookies and cakes, and as an ingredient in cereal bars to bind the ingredients.

As a dietary supplement

Prunes may provide a natural

effect, and prune juice may serve as a natural laxative for cases of mild

constipation Constipation is a bowel dysfunction that makes bowel movements infrequent or hard to pass. The Human feces, stool is often hard and dry. Other symptoms may include abdominal pain, bloating, and feeling as if one has not completely passed the ...

. In 1990, the U.S.

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...

stated that "the common prune was not an effective laxative".

History

United States

Duffy-Mott began producing prune juice in 1933, which was purveyed under the Sunsweet brand name. The commercial distribution of prune juice in the United States first occurred in 1934, which "began with an output of only 40,000 cases".

Other uses

Prune juice concentrate, prune extracts and plum extracts are sometimes used as an

additive Additive may refer to: Mathematics * Additive function, a function in number theory * Additive map, a function that preserves the addition operation * Additive set-function see Sigma additivity * Additive category, a preadditive category with fin ...

in tobacco products to enhance flavor.

In popular culture

In the '' Star Trek : The Next Generation'' episode "

Yesterday's Enterprise "Yesterday's Enterprise" is the 63rd episode of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. It is the 15th episode of the third season, first airing in syndication in the week of February 19, 1990. Set ...

", the Klingon character

Worf Worf, son of Mogh is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, portrayed by actor Michael Dorn. He appears in the television series ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''TNG''), seasons four through seven of ''Star Trek: Deep Space ...

is introduced to prune juice by Guinan. He declares that it is a "warrior's drink" and begins to drink it regularly in subsequent episodes, even carrying the habit over to '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. In the series Suits, the character Louis Litt (played by Rick Hoffman) drinks prunies, which are prune juice smoothies.

Gallery

File:French Prune Juice - For giving age to and improving liquors LCCN2001701477.tif, A prune juice label from 1870: "French Prune Juice – For giving age to and improving liquors"