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Cranberry Health Research Summary
Urinary Tract
Oral cavity
Cancer
Heart
Stomach
Fact Sheet
Since 1984, many studies have confirmed that cranberries have numerous health benefits, the foremost being its “anti-adhesion” effect on certain bacteria. Cranberry juice cocktail contains proanthocyanidins, more commonly known as condensed tannins, which actually “disable” certain harmful bacteria that cause infection in the body, so the “bugs don’t stick.”
The first scientific findings on cranberry were related to urinary tract health. Most recently, emerging science suggests that cranberries may also be powerful protectors of our health in other areas of the body. Cranberries may inhibit certain bacteria in the stomach and oral cavity through the same anti-adhesion mechanism that promotes urinary tract health. While this research is still in the early stages, it is exciting to consider the cranberry’s importance as a promising therapeutic tool to help fight bacteria naturally.
May 1984 – Journal of Urology
While trying to account for cranberry juice’s unique urinary tract health
benefits, Youngstown State University researchers demonstrate that the benefits
may be related to the cranberry’s ability to inhibit bacteria from adhering
to the walls of the urinary tract – thus reducing the risk of infection.
The researchers found that 15 ounces of cranberry juice cocktail significantly
inhibited the E. coli bacteria, which cause 80 to 90 percent of UTIs,
from adhering to the urinary tract.
May 30, 1991 – The New England Journal of Medicine
Tel Aviv University researchers also describe the anti-E. coli adherence
property of cranberry juice and attempt to identify the specific components in
cranberries that cause this beneficial effect. They conclude that a compound
in cranberries of an “unknown nature” prevents certain E. coli from
adhering to the bladder’s lining.
March 9, 1994 – Journal of the American Medical Association
Harvard Medical School researchers conduct the first well-controlled, large-scale
clinical trial to demonstrate that drinking cranberry juice cocktail regularly
significantly reduced bacteria from growing in the urinary tract. The researchers
found that the effect was not because of more acidic urine (the urine of the
cranberry juice drinkers was no more acidic than those drinking a non-cranberry
placebo drink) and speculated that there was something specific in cranberry
that prevented bacteria from adhering to the urinary tract. This research was
conducted with 153 women, average age of 78, using 10 ounces of cranberry juice
cocktail, which contains 27 percent cranberry juice.
1997 – Journal of Family Practice
In a double-blind clinical trial, researchers from Weber State University find
that sexually active women between the ages of 18 and 45 who daily consume
a cranberry dietary supplement (from spray-dried cranberry juice) for six months
had a significantly lower risk of UTIs than women taking a placebo.
February 1998 – Journal of Urology
Building on the anti-adhesion theory, Tulane University School of Medicine researchers
find that cranberry juice actually changes the shape of E. coli. Examining
the effects of cranberry juice on the growth and development of E. coli in
the laboratory, the researchers found that the hair-like structures that E.
coli use to attach to cells in the bladder were inhibited from growing
in the presence of cranberry juice. This provided the first visual observation
of a change in structure of the bacteria that would prevent them from attaching
to cells in the urinary tract.
October 8, 1998 - The New England Journal of Medicine - Proanthocyanidins
Identified
Rutgers-led scientists identify the active components in cranberries responsible
for maintaining urinary tract health as proanthocyanidins or condensed tannins.
The researchers concluded that the proanthocyanidins in a daily 10-ounce glass
of cranberry juice cocktail are responsible for promoting urinary tract health.
January 2001 – Spinal Cord
Recurrent urinary tract infections frequently pose a serious problem for hospitalized
spinal cord-injured patients. A study was conducted with patients comparing
the effects of water and cranberry juice cocktail consumption. The results
indicate that the cranberry juice cocktail significantly reduced bacteria from
adhering to bladder cells and the water intake had no effect on bacterial adhesion.
December 1998 - The Journal of the American Dental Association
Research from Tel Aviv University suggests that compounds in cranberries may
certain bacteria found in the mouth from adhering to teeth and to other bacteria,
apparently through the same type of anti-adhesion mechanism through which they
maintain urinary tract health. These bacteria have been associated with periodontal
gum disease. More research is needed to provide an optimal product to deliver
this benefit.
April 2000 – The University of Western Ontario
Research from the University of Western Ontario studies the effect of daily consumption
of cranberry juice and other cranberry products on human breast cancer cell
growth in animals. This preliminary research found that cranberry components
inhibited the development of tumors in mice injected with human breast cancer
cells. More research is needed to understand the benefits to human health.
September 15, 2000
– International Conference and Exhibit on Nutraceuticals and
Functional Foods
Cranberry seeds are found to contain a higher level of tocotrienols, powerful
cancer-fighting antioxidants, than in any other plant. University of Massachusetts-Amherst
researcher Dr. Wasef Nawar’s study reveals that cranberry seed oil contains
significant amounts of these potent forms of Vitamin E without the palmitic acid
found in other plants containing tocotrienols.
April 2000 – University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse
Early results from an in vitro study from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse
suggest cranberry juice might promote cardiovascular health. In the study, cranberry
juice proved to be an effective antioxidant, preventing artery-clogging LDL cholesterol
from becoming oxidized and thus causing more damage.
September 10-15, 2000 – International Conference on Polyphenols
in Freising-Weinhenstephan, Germany
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison test a series of cranberry
flavonoid fractions in vitro and find that some of them prevent LDL oxidation.
The cranberry proanthocyanidin fraction was highly effective in protecting the
LDL from oxidation.
September 17, 2000
– International Conference and Exhibit on Nutraceuticals and
Functional Foods
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst discover that cranberry
seed oil contains high levels of omega 3 fatty acids and tocotrienols, two compounds
rarely found in plants, that are believed to contribute to heart health. Omega
3 fatty acids, usually found in unpleasant tasting fish oil, reduce LDL cholesterol
and triglycerides, and tocotrienols are believed to have implications in blood
clotting.
October 2000 – Journal of Medicinal Foods
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse discover that compounds
found in cranberry extracts dilate blood vessels in rats, thereby reducing
their blood pressure. The researchers conclude that the flavonoids and acanthocyanins
in cranberry juice may provide the heart benefits of red wine without the alcohol.
September 15 , 2000 – International Conference and Exhibit
on Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods
Researchers at Tel Aviv University find preliminary evidence that cranberry may
have a similar anti-adhesion effect on H. pylori, the bacteria that are
a cause of stomach ulcers. The in vitro study, using human gastric mucus
cells and a cranberry fraction, suggests that the cranberry’s anti-adhesion
effect may prevent the bacteria from attaching to the stomach lining and causing
an ulcer. The findings also showed that cranberry could also possibly reverse
the adhesion of these bacteria.