The California Prune Board (CPB) has announced that two research projects focused on women’s bone health have received federal co-funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). The studies, conducted at Penn State University and San Diego State University, will investigate whether daily consumption of prunes can slow or prevent significant bone loss in women during the transition to menopause.
“This milestone underscores the value of our industry’s sustained investment in credible science,” said Donn Zea, executive director of the California Prune Board. “By leveraging federal co-funding, we’re amplifying grower dollars, supporting America First agriculture, and strengthening the evidence for prunes as a powerful tool in preventive health. That not only validates the work we’ve done but also expands opportunities to engage policymakers, health professionals, and consumers here in the United States and throughout the world that increasingly demand delicious and nutritious solutions backed by science.”
The new research will focus on a three-year period known as “transmenopause,” when women move from late perimenopause to early post-menopause—a time associated with rapid bone loss. This stage is often overlooked in clinical nutrition research but is considered important for developing prevention strategies.
Previous trials have indicated that prunes may help reduce bone loss in postmenopausal women. The upcoming studies aim to determine if starting prune consumption earlier can prevent irreversible damage.
At Penn State University, Dr. Mary Jane De Souza will lead an 18-month trial evaluating prune consumption during transmenopause and its effects on bone health. At San Diego State University, Dr. Shirin Hooshmand will conduct a 24-month study examining prune intake’s impact on bone density and overall health outcomes. Both projects will also assess inflammation levels and gut microbiome changes related to prune consumption.
Osteoporosis affects more than 10 million Americans each year, resulting in over two million fractures annually and costing more than $50 billion in healthcare expenses nationwide (https://www.bonehealthandosteoporosis.org/patients/what-is-osteoporosis/). Even small reductions in fracture risk could significantly decrease these costs.
“For women seeking non-medication prevention strategies, these studies could be game changers,” Zea said. “Prunes are a nutrient-rich, shelf-stable and simple whole food. If these trials confirm their role in preventing bone loss during this critical life stage, the public health and economic impact could be enormous.”
Of more than $10 million awarded by NIFA across 23 projects this cycle (https://nifa.usda.gov/news/nifa-invests-over-10m-human-nutrition-health-research), over $2 million was allocated specifically for California prune research initiatives led by CPB partners.
The NIFA funding continues CPB’s long history of supporting peer-reviewed research into prunes’ nutritional benefits for healthy aging. Notably, The Prune Study—the largest clinical trial so far—found that eating five to six prunes daily helped preserve hip bone mineral density among postmenopausal women (https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/115/1/142/6413497). These findings were published in 2022 by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
More information about CPB’s ongoing nutrition research can be found at https://californiaprunes.org/.
