This article describes the chemical composition, efficacy and risks of using cranberries for the treatment of cystitis in cats and dogs.

PURPOSE: We studied the health benefits of low calorie cranberry beverage consumption on glucoregulation, oxidative damage, inflammation, and lipid metabolism in overweight but otherwise healthy humans. METHODS: 78 overweight or obese men and women (30-70 years; BMI 27-35 kg/m2) with abdominal adiposity (waist: hip>0.8 for women and >0.9 for men; waist: height>=0.5) consumed 450 mL placebo or low calorie, high polyphenol cranberry extract beverage (CEB) daily for 8 week in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel design trial. Blood and urine samples were collected after overnight fast at baseline and after 8 weeks of daily beverage consumption. Blood and urine samples were also collected during 3 oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) challenges: (1) pre-intervention without the test beverages, (2) following a single dose of placebo or CEB at baseline (week 0), and (3) following a single dose of placebo or CEB at 8 week. RESULTS: Compared to placebo, a single CEB dose at baseline lowered endothelin-1 and elevated nitric oxide and the reduced:oxidized glutathione ratio (P<0.05). Interferon-gamma was elevated (P<0.05) after a single CEB dose at baseline; however, after 8 week of CEB intervention, fasting C-reactive protein was lower (P<0.05). CEB consumption for 8 week also reduced serum insulin and increased HDL cholesterol compared to placebo (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: An acute dose of low calorie, high polyphenol cranberry beverage improved antioxidant status, while 8 week daily consumption reduced cardiovascular disease risk factors by improving glucoregulation, downregulating inflammatory biomarkers, and increasing HDL cholesterol.

Periodontal disease is highly prevalent worldwide, and consumption of certain foods, such as fruits, seem to improve the effectiveness of periodontal therapy (PT) due to their antiadhesive, immunomodulatory, and antioxidative properties. We hypothesized that the cranberry functional beverage (CFB) consumed for eight weeks improves gingival inflammation indices via inhibition of dental plaque, and alterations in antioxidant status, and systemic inflammation in patients with gingivitis. In this two-arm randomized controlled study, fifty participants were divided into an experimental group (CFB), administered daily with 750 ml CFB, or a control group administered the same amount of water. All patients underwent nonsurgical PT prior to the intervention. Gingival (GI) and bleeding on probing (BoP) indices of inflammation, plaque (PI) and approximal plaque (API) indices of dental plaque deposition, saliva and serum total antioxidant status (TAS), serum malonylodialdehyde level (MDA), and interleukin 1-beta level (IL-1beta) were measured pre- and postintervention. A risk of caries development was determined by Streptococcus mutans (SM) and Lactobacillus spp. (LAB) counts in supragingival dental plaque. Changes in GI and PI but not BoP and API were significantly more pronounced in the CFB group compared to the control group. Serum or saliva TAS, IL-1beta, and MDA did not differ between groups. The number of SM reduced in CFB, but not in the control group. We demonstrated that the consumption of CFB improves gingival and plaque indices without posing a risk of caries development. Thus CFB can be recommended as a safe adjunct for nonsurgical PT in patients with gingivitis.

Background: Interest in using herbal medicines to treat the hypercholesterolemia is increasing. Cranberry extract could decrease plasma cholesterol, however, the active ingredients and the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. Hypothesis: The present study was to test the hypothesis that cranberry anthocyanins (CrA) were at least one of the active ingredients responsible for the cholesterol-lowering activity of cranberry fruits via a mechanism of increasing fecal sterol excretion. Methods: Forty-four hamsters were randomly divided into five groups and fed one of the five diets, namely a non-cholesterol control diet (NCD), a high-cholesterol control diet (HCD), a HCD diet supplemented with a low dose of 1% CrA (CL), a HCD diet supplemented with a high dose of 2% CrA (CH), and a HCD diet supplemented with 0.5% cholestyramine as a positive control drug (P-CTL), respectively, for six weeks. Plasma lipoprotein cholesterol was quantified using the enzymatic kits, while the gene expressions of transporters, enzymes and receptors involved in cholesterol absorption and metabolism were quantified using the quantitative RT-PCR. Fecal sterols were quantified using gas chromatography (GC). Results: Plasma total cholesterol and aorta atherosclerotic plaque decreased dose-dependently with the increasing amounts of CrA added into diets. This was accompanied by a dose-dependent increase in excretion of both neutral and acidic sterols. CrA had no effect on the mRNA levels of intestinal Niemann-Pick C1 like 1 protein (NPC1 L1), acyl CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase2 (ACAT2), microsomal triacylglycerol transport protein (MTP), and ATP binding cassette transporter 5 (ABCG5) as well as hepatic cholesterol-7 alpha -hydroxylase (CYP7A1), 3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl reductase (HMG-CoA-R), sterol regulatory element binding protein 2 (SREBP2), LDL receptor (LDL-R), and Liver X receptor alpha (LXR alpha ). Conclusion: CrA as an herbal medicine could favorably modify the lipoprotein profile in hamsters fed a high cholesterol diet by enhancing excretion of fecal neutral and acidic sterols, most likely not mediated by interaction with genes of transporters, enzymes and proteins involved in cholesterol absorption and metabolism

The American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) is one of the fruits containing antioxidants in great quantity and of high quality. From recent research, it is evident that both cranberry and its products, when consumed chronically or acutely, boost the antioxidant effect. Likewise, most studies revealed the anti-inflammatory potential of the cranberry polyphenols. Both effects exert direct action mechanisms, revealed by the ability of the polyphenols to remove the reactive oxygen species, as well as indirect effects, represented by the action of these phytochemicals on the cell signaling pathways and genetic expression. A limited number of articles that evaluated the effects of cranberry on mitochondrial damages are available. However, an enhancement in the functions of this organelle was confirmed by the increased production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Therefore, further studies are required to demonstrate the benefits credited to the use of cranberry, as well as to describe the action mechanisms of the polyphenols.

Chitosan interacts with proanthocyanidins through hydrogen-bonding, which allows encapsulation and development of stable nanoparticles via ionotropic gelation. Cranberry proanthocyanidins (PAC) are associated with the prevention of urinary tract infections and PAC inhibit invasion of gut epithelial cells by extra-intestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC). We determined the effect of cranberry proanthocyanidin-chitosan hybrid nanoparticles (PAC-CHTNp) on the ExPEC invasion of gut epithelial cells in vitro. PAC-CHTNp were characterized according to size, morphology, and bioactivity. Results showed a decrease in the size of the nanoparticles as the concentration of PAC was increased, indicating that PAC increases cross-linking by hydrogen-bonding on the surface of the chitosan nanoparticles. Nanoparticles were produced with diameters ranging from 367.3nm to 293.2nm. Additionally, PAC-CHTNp significantly inhibited the ability of ExPEC to invade the enterocytes by ~80% at 66mugGAE/mL and by ~92% at 100mugGAE/mL. Results also indicate that chitosan nanoparticles alone were not significantly different from controls in preventing ExPEC invasion of enterocytes (data not shown) and also there were not significant differences between PAC alone and PAC-CHTNp, suggesting that the new PAC-CHTNp could lead to an increase in the stability of encapsulated PAC, maintain the molecular adhesion of PAC to ExPEC.

OBJECTIVES: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common after pelvic reconstructive surgery, likely due to high rates of urinary retention. We sought to determine if prescription of cranberry capsules reduced UTIs in postoperative patients requiring catheter use. METHODS: This was an institutional review board-approved retrospective cohort study. Two 6-month periods were compared: April to September 2015, before cranberry capsules were incorporated, and April to September 2016, after cranberry capsules were implemented. Our study population included patients discharged with a catheter after pelvic reconstructive surgery. All charts were reviewed for demographics, perioperative data, and urine cultures up to 6 weeks postoperatively. A UTI was defined as treatment with antibiotics or positive cultures. Statistical analysis was performed; logistic regression evaluated for relationships between UTI and other factors. Our a priori sample size calculation determined 88 subjects per group would be necessary. RESULTS: Over the 2 periods, 167 patients met inclusion criteria: 71 before and 96 after cranberry implementation. The 2 cohorts were similar in all data. Regarding incidence of UTI, rates were overall high and not significantly different between groups (76% before cranberry vs 69% with cranberry; P = 0.299). The median duration of catheter use was 8 days in both cohorts. The UTI was most likely to occur in the second week after surgery. Logistic regression revealed no associations between age, surgery type, duration of catheter use, and UTI. CONCLUSIONS: In this retrospective study, prescription of cranberry capsules did not significantly reduce UTI rates among patients with urinary catheters after pelvic reconstructive surgery.

Candida albicans is one of the most common causes of hospital-acquired urinary tract infections (UTIs). However, azoles are poorly active against biofilms, echinocandins do not achieve clinically useful urinary concentrations, and amphotericin B exhibits severe toxicities. Thus, novel strategies are needed to prevent Candida UTIs, which are often associated with urinary catheter biofilms. We previously demonstrated that cranberry-derived proanthocyanidins (PACs) prevent C. albicans biofilm formation in an in vitro urinary model. To elucidate functional pathways unique to urinary biofilm development and PAC inhibition, we investigated the transcriptome of C. albicans in artificial urine (AU), with and without PACs. C. albicans biofilm and planktonic cells were cultivated with or without PACs. Genome-wide expression analysis was performed by RNA sequencing. Differentially expressed genes were determined using DESeq2 software; pathway analysis was performed using Cytoscape. Approximately 2,341 of 6,444 total genes were significantly expressed in biofilm relative to planktonic cells. Functional pathway analysis revealed that genes involved in filamentation, adhesion, drug response and transport were up-regulated in urinary biofilms. Genes involved in carbon and nitrogen metabolism and nutrient response were down-regulated. In PAC-treated urinary biofilms compared to untreated control biofilms, 557 of 6,444 genes had significant changes in gene expression. Genes downregulated in PAC-treated biofilms were implicated in iron starvation and adhesion pathways. Although urinary biofilms share key features with biofilms formed in other environments, many genes are uniquely expressed in urinary biofilms. Cranberry-derived PACs interfere with the expression of iron acquisition and adhesion genes within urinary biofilms.

In this work, a new method based on reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection (FLD) was established for the determination of catechins and related oligomeric proanthocyanidins (PACs) in cranberry-based pharmaceuticals. Compounds were recovered by liquid extraction using methanol/water/hydrochloric acid (60:39:1, v:v:v) as the extraction solvent. The chromatographic separation was carried out using a core-shell C18 column under an elution program based on 0.1% formic acid in water and methanol as the components of the mobile phase. The flow rate was 0.4 mL min-1 and the injection volume was 5 micro L. Chromatograms were acquired at 280 nm by UV-vis absorption and at lambda ex 280 nm and lambda em 347 nm by fluorescence spectroscopy. Compared to UV detection, FLD demonstrated both increased sensitivity and selectivity to avoid interfering signals from other phenolic compounds present in the samples. Data resulting from the analysis of cranberry-based products was exploited to tackle an exploratory characterization and classification using principal component analysis. Samples were clustered according to their compositions and those enriched with PACs with antibacterial activity were clearly distinguished from the others.

The objective of this study was to develop a thiolysis HPLC method to quantify total procyanidins, the ratio of A-type linkages, and A-type procyanidin equivalents in cranberry products. Cysteamine was utilized as a low-odor substitute of toluene-alpha-thiol for thiolysis depolymerization. A reaction temperature of 70 degreeC and reaction time of 20 min, in 0.3 M of HCl, were determined to be optimum depolymerization conditions. Thiolytic products of cranberry procyanidins were separated by RP-HPLC and identified using high-resolution mass spectrometry. Standards curves of good linearity were obtained on thiolyzed procyanidin dimer A2 and B2 external standards. The detection and quantification limits, recovery, and precision of this method were validated. The new method was applied to quantitate total procyanidins, average degree of polymerization, ratio of A-type linkages, and A-type procyanidin equivalents in cranberry products. Results showed that the method was suitable for quantitative and qualitative analysis of procyanidins in cranberry products.