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 Prunus domestica (Rosaceae)
PRUNE, PLUM
Prunes are so widely used a s
remedy for constipation that they are taken for granted, or treated as a
joke. A perfect example of "let your food be your medicine", they are
ideally suited as a gentle nutritive laxative.
This fruit dates back to Roman times.
Today, the medicinal properties of prunes are taken for granted and the fruit is often included in the Western diet to relieve constipation.
Native to Europe and Asia, P. domestica is a deciduous tree with smooth peeling bark and oval leaves.
Clusters of pink to white flowers appear in the spring, followed by fleshy stonecontaining fruit,
which ripen with a deeppurple skin and yellow to brown flesh.
PARTS USED
Fruit.
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS
Sugars; malic acid; pectin.
ACTIONS
Laxative; soothes internal body surfaces.
MEDICINAL USE
An ideal nutritive laxative for
people with frail and nervous bowel function.
PREPARATIONS
Dried fruit.
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