Kiwifruit Extract Offers Many Benefits for Digestion

Key Digestive and Health Benefits:

  • Digestive Aid
  • Antioxidant
  • Improved laxation
  • Alleviates irritable bowel syndrome
  • Prebiotic effect
  • Glycemic control
  • Cardiovascular benefits
  • High in vitamins
  • High in minerals 

 

ActinidinActive logo actinidin enzyme kiwifruit 500px

Specific Details for ActinidinActive®:

  • Digestive Aid
    • Protease assists upper tract protein digestion, including meat and cereal proteins, casein and soy
  • Antioxidant
    • Ascorbic acid, phenolics and flavonoids in extract scavenge free-radicals
  • Improved Bowel Function
    • Improves bowel function and laxation in patients with irritable bowel syndrome/constipation
  • Prebiotic
    • Pectic polysaccharides in kiwifruit extract promote growth of beneficial gut microbiota
  • Glycemic Control
    • Kiwifruit extract fibers swell and form gum, lowering GI, extending satiety and blood sugar control
  • Cardiovascular Health
    • Studies show daily kiwifruit consumption lowers platelet aggregation and blood triglycerides
  • Vitamins and Minerals
    • High in Vitamin C, also A, E and folate, high in potassium, calcium, iron and magnesium 

 

Study: Mechanisms of Kiwifruit on gastrointestinal function

pdf download icon 72pxReview by Bayer et al. (2018) Crit. Rev. Food Sci. Nutr. 58: 2432-2452

Download: Putative mechanisms of kiwifruit on maintenance of normal gastrointestinal function

  • Review identified likely mechanisms of kiwifruit on normal gastrointestinal function:
    • Modulation of microflora
    • Changes in colonic methane status
    • Changes in bile flux
    • Induction of motility via protease-activated signaling
    • Mediation of inflammatory processes
  • Conclusions were green kiwifruit provide valuable benefits to humans affected by constipation and irritable bowel syndrome

 

Study: Kiwifruit capsule consumption increases beneficial fecal microbiota in constipated individuals

pdf download icon 72pxStudy by Blatchford et al. (2017) J. Nutr. Sci. 6: 1-10

Download: Consumption of kiwifruit capsules increases Faecali bacterium prausnitzii abundance in functionally constipated individuals a randomised controlled human trial

  • Study fed kiwifruit supplements to healthy and constipated participants
  • All participants fed kiwifruit supplements observe an increased proportion of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii
  • Lower levels of F. prausnitzii are associated with gastrointestinal disorders
  • Concluded consumption of kiwifruit supplement offers a potential strategy for improving human gut microbiota composition 

 

Study: Kiwifruit fermentation drives positive gut microbiota irrespective of initial microbiota

pdf download icon 72pxStudy by Blatchford et al. (2016) Bioactive Carbohydrates and Dietary Fibre 6: 37-45

Download: Kiwifruit fermentation drives positive gut microbial and metabolic changes irrespective of initial microbiota composition

  • Study used in vitro model gut system
  • Adding kiwifruit substrate altered growth of specific bacterial groups, bacterial diversity and metabolite profiles
  • Bacteriodes spp. and Bifidobacterium spp. both increased after kiwifruit addition
  • After kiwifruit addition, increases were observed in acetate, butyrate and propionate and concomitant decrease in several amino acids and oligosaccharides 

 

Study: Kiwifruit improves bowel function in patients with irritable bowel syndrome and constipation

pdf download icon 72pxStudy by Chang et al. (2010) Asia Pac. J. Clin. Nutr. 19: 451- 457

Download: Kiwifruit improves bowel function in patients with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation

  • Study fed two kiwifruit per day to 70 patients (54 with irritable bowel syndrome) for 4 weeks
  • After 4 weeks, defecation frequency significantly increased for patients suffering from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
  • Colon transit time significantly decreased for patients with IBS 

 

Study: Actinidin enhances gastric protein digestion

pdf download icon 72pxStudy by Kaur et al. (2010) J. Agric. Food Chem. 58: 5068-5073

Download: Actinidin Enhances Gastric Protein Digestion As Assessed Using an in Vitro Gastric Digestion Model

  • Study incubated actinidin with proteins from soy, meat, milk and cereals, using an in vitro digestion system and compared to pepsin
  • Actinidin resulted in substantially greater loss of intact protein compared to pepsin, in particular for caseinates 

 

Study: Kiwifruit changes intestinal microbial profile

pdf download icon 72pxStudy by Lee et al. (2012) Microbial Ecology in Health and Disease 23: 18572-J. Agric. Food Chem. 58: 5068-5073

Download: Kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) changes intestinal microbial profile

  • Freeze-dried kiwifruit were fed to 6 subjects for 4 days
  • Kiwifruit demonstrated prebiotic effect, promoting growth of Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria compared to baseline before kiwifruit consumption

 

Study: Actinidin increases gastric digestion and emptying rate

pdf download icon 72pxStudy by Montoya et al. (2014) J. Nutrition 144: 440-446

Download: Dietary Actinidin from Kiwifruit Increases Gastric Digestion and the Gastric Emptying Rate of Several Dietary Proteins in Growing Rats

  • Actinidin was fed to rats along with diet consisting of 6 different protein sources (beef muscle, gelatin, gluten, soy protein isolate (SPI), whey protein isolate and zein)
  • Actinidin increased gastric digestion of beef muscle, gluten and SPI and increased gastric emptying time of beef muscle and zein 

 

Study: Kiwifruit promotes laxation in elderly

pdf download icon 72pxStudy by Rush et al. (2002) Asia Pac. J. Clin. Nutr. 11: 164-168

Download: Kiwifruit Promotes Laxation in Elderly

  • 38 healthy subjects consumed their normal diet with or without regular kiwi fruit consumption
  • Kiwifruit consumption significantly enhanced all measurements of laxation, including bulkier and softer stool and more frequent stool production 

 

Study: Actinidin improves digestion of food proteins

pdf download icon 72pxStudy by Rutherfurd et al. (2011) Food Chem. 129: 1681-1689

Download: Dietary Actinidin from Kiwifruit Increases Gastric Digestion and the Gastric Emptying Rate of Several Dietary Proteins in Growing Rats

  • Studied actinidin digestion on 6 food proteins in rats
  • Kiwifruit consumption significantly enhanced all measurements of laxation, including bulkier and softer stool and more frequent stool production
  • Actinidin increased gastric digestibility of beef muscle protein, gelatin, soy protein isolate and gluten 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Category: Standardised Actinidin Powder, Meat Tenderising, Meat Tenderizing, Digestive Health, Prebiotic