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
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
Review 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
Study by Blatchford et al. (2017) J. Nutr. Sci. 6: 1-10
- 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
Study by Blatchford et al. (2016) Bioactive Carbohydrates and Dietary Fibre 6: 37-45
- 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
Study 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
Study 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
Study 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
Study by Montoya et al. (2014) J. Nutrition 144: 440-446
- 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
Study 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
Study by Rutherfurd et al. (2011) Food Chem. 129: 1681-1689
- 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