Kiwifruits are recognised as providing relief from constipation and symptoms of constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-C). However, the underlying mechanisms, specifi cally inregards to gastrointestinal transit time and motility, are still not completely understood.
This reviewprovides an overview on the physiological and pathophysiological processes underlying constipationand IBS-C, the composition of kiwifruit, and recent advances in the research of kiwifruit and abdominalcomfort. In addition, gaps in the research are highlighted and scientifi c studies of other foods withknown eff ects on the gastrointestinal tract are consulted to fi nd likely mechanisms of action.
While theeff ects of kiwifruit fi ber are well documented, observed increases in gastrointestinal motility caused bykiwifruit are not fully characterized.There are a number of identified mechanisms that may be activatedby kiwifruit compounds, such as the induction of motility via protease-activated signaling, modulationof microfl ora, changes in colonic methane status, bile fl ux, or mediation of infl ammatory processes.
