A New Zealand-based pharmaceutical company will study the value of kiwifruit extract Kivia in treating irritable bowel syndrome.

The product is already marketed in New Zealand under the name Phloe, a green kiwifruit extract containing enzymes, prebiotics and fiber.

The 10-center trail from Vital Food Processors Ltd will seek to build off an earlier study on Phloe that found the product to offer digestive health benefits, explained CEO Justus Homburg.

"This clinical trial is designed to build on the results of previous studies that focused on relief of constipation and showed that Phloe relieved abdominal bloating, pain and flatulence in people with some of the symptoms also associated with IBS," Homburg said in a company press release.

"These included four randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials conducted in the United States and in China and three randomised open-label trials conducted in Japan."

The new study will recruit 180 patients in Australia and New Zealand to be monitored and treated over a three-month period.

Vital Foods hopes to have the study results ready by the end of the year and begin expanding into international markets.

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