Recent advances in cranberry research have expanded the evidence for the role of this Vaccinium berry fruit in modulating gut microbiota function and cardiometabolic risk factors. The A-type structure of cranberry proanthocyanidins seems to be responsible for much of this fruit’s efficacy as a natural antimicrobial. Cranberry proanthocyanidins interfere with colonization of the gut by extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli in vitro and attenuate gut barrier dysfunction caused by dietary insults in vivo. Furthermore, new studies indicate synergy between these proanthocyanidins, other cranberry components such as isoprenoids and xyloglucans, and gut microbiota. Together, cranberry constituents and their bioactive catabolites have been found to contribute to mechanisms affecting bacterial adhesion, coaggregation, and biofilm formation that may underlie potential clinical benefits on gastrointestinal and urinary tract infections, as well as on systemic anti-inflammatory actions mediated via the gut microbiome. A limited but growing body of evidence from randomized clinical trials reveals favorable effects of cranberry consumption on measures of cardiometabolic health, including serum lipid profiles, blood pressure, endothelial function, glucoregulation, and a variety of biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress. These results warrant further research, particularly studies dedicated to the elucidation of dose-response relations, pharmacokinetic/metabolomics profiles, and relevant biomarkers of action with the use of fully characterized cranberry products. Freeze-dried whole cranberry powder and a matched placebo were recently made available to investigators to facilitate such work, including interlaboratory comparability.

Link to full text article: http://advances.nutrition.org/content/7/4/759S.full

Objective: We assessed the effects of the consumption of a cranberry beverage on episodes of clinical UTIs.

Design: In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter clinical trial, women with a history of a recent UTI were assigned to consume one 240-mL serving of cranberry beverage/d (n = 185) or a placebo (n = 188) beverage for 24 wk. The primary outcome was the clinical UTI incidence density, which was defined as the total number of clinical UTI events (including multiple events per subject when applicable) per unit of observation time.

Results: The dates of the random assignment of the first subject and the last subject’s final visit were February 2013 and March 2015, respectively. The mean age was 40.9 y, and characteristics were similar in both groups. Compliance with study product consumption was 98%, and 86% of subjects completed the treatment period in both groups. There were 39 investigator-diagnosed episodes of clinical UTI in the cranberry group compared with 67 episodes in the placebo group (antibiotic use–adjusted incidence rate ratio: 0.61; 95% CI: 0.41, 0.91; P = 0.016). Clinical UTI with pyuria was also significantly reduced (incidence rate ratio: 0.63; 95% CI: 0.40, 0.97; P = 0.037). One clinical UTI event was prevented for every 3.2 woman-years (95% CI: 2.0, 13.1 woman-years) of the cranberry intervention. The time to UTI with culture positivity did not differ significantly between groups (HR: 0.97; 95% CI: 0.56, 1.67; P = 0.914).

Conclusion: The consumption of a cranberry juice beverage lowered the number of clinical UTI episodes in women with a recent history of UTI. This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01776021.

Full article: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/103/6/1434.full

Campylobacter infections are a leading cause of human bacterial gastroenteritis in the United States and are a major cause of diarrheal disease throughout the world. Colonization and subsequent infection and invasion of Campylobacter require that the bacteria adhere to the surface of host cells. Agents that inhibit adherence could be used prophylactically to reduce Campylobacter carriage and infection. Mannan oligosaccharides (MOS) have been used as a feed supplement in livestock animals to improve performance and to replace growth-promoting antibiotics. However, MOS and other nondigestible oligosaccharides may also prevent pathogen colonization by inhibiting adherence in the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, plant extracts, including those derived from cranberries, have been shown to have antiadherence activity against pathogens. The goal of this study was to assess the ability of MOS and cranberry fractions to serve as antiadherence agents against strains of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli. Adherence experiments were performed using HEp-2 cells. Significant reductions in adherence of C. jejuni 29438, C. jejuni 700819, C. jejuni 3329, and C. coli 43485 were observed in the presence of MOS (up to 40 mg/ml) and with a high-molecular-weight fraction of cranberry extract (up to 3 mg/ml). However, none of the tested materials reduced adherence of C. coli BAA-1061. No additive effect in adherence inhibition was observed for an MOS-cranberry blend. These results suggest that both components, MOS and cranberry, could be used to reduce Campylobacter colonization and carriage in livestock animals and potentially limit human exposure to this pathogen.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the adhesion abilities of the acetic acid bacterium Asaia bogorensis to glass and polystyrene in the presence of American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) juice. The strain of A. bogorensis used was isolated from spoiled commercial fruit-flavored drinking water. The cranberry juice was analyzed for polyphenols, organic acids, and carbohydrates using high-performance liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry techniques. The adhesive abilities of bacterial cells in culture medium supplemented with cranberry juice were determined using luminometry and microscopy. The viability of adhered and planktonic bacterial cells was determined by the plate count method, and the relative adhesion coefficient was calculated. This strain of A. bogorensis was characterized by strong adhesion properties that were dependent upon the type of surface. The highest level of cell adhesion was found on the polystyrene. However, in the presence of 10% cranberry juice, attachment of bacterial cells was three times lower. Chemical analysis of juice revealed the presence of sugars, organic acids, and anthocyanins, which were identified as galactosides, glucosides, and arabinosides of cyanidin and peonidin. A-type proanthocyanidins responsible for the antiadhesion properties of V. macrocarpon also were detected.

Cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon) contain many bioactive compounds and have some biological activities and beneficial health properties. In the study, antioxidant effects of lyophilized aqueous extract of cranberry (LAEC) and quantity of some its polyphenolic compounds were determined. For this purpose, we performed DPPH., DMPD.+, ABTS.+ and O2.- radicals scavenging activities, inhibition of lipid peroxidation activity by thiocyanate method, Cu2+ and Fe3+ reducing abilities, FRAP assay and Fe2+ binding activity. At the 10 micro g/mL concentration, LAEC inhibited 52.4% lipid peroxidation produced by linoleic acid emulsion. Also, alpha -tocopherol, BHA, trolox, and BHT had 52.5, 89.9, 93.1 and 94.9% inhibition value at 30 micro g/mL concentration, respectively. Quantitative amounts of some phenolic compounds in LAEC were investigated by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). p-Hydroxy benzoic acid was found as the most abundant phenolic compound (55 mg/kg extract) in LAEC.

Most research on American cranberry in the prevention of urinary tract infection (UTI) has used juices. The spectrum of components in juice is limited. This study tested whether whole cranberry fruit powder (proanthocyanidin content 0.56%) could prevent recurrent UTI in 182 women with two or more UTI episodes in the last year. Participants were randomized to a cranberry (n=89) or a placebo group (n=93) and received daily 500mg of cranberry for 6months. The number of UTI diagnoses was counted. The intent-to-treat analyses showed that in the cranberry group, the UTIs were significantly fewer [10.8% vs. 25.8%, p=0.04, with an age-standardized 12-month UTI history (p=0.01)]. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that the cranberry group experienced a longer time to first UTI than the placebo group (p=0.04). Biochemical parameters were normal, and there was no significant difference in urinary phenolics between the groups at baseline or on day180. The results show that cranberry fruit powder (peel, seeds, pulp) may reduce the risk of symptomatic UTI in women with a history of recurrent UTIs.

Berries are a rich source of (poly)phenols, including anthocyanins, flavan-3-ols, procyanidins, flavonols, ellagitannins, and hydroxycinnamates. Epidemiological evidence indicates that the cardiovascular health benefits of diets rich in berries are related to their (poly)phenol content. These findings are supported by small-scale randomized controlled studies (RCTs) that have shown improvements in several surrogate markers of cardiovascular risk such as blood pressure, endothelial function, arterial stiffness, and blood lipids after acute and short-term consumption of blueberries, strawberries, cranberries, or purified anthocyanin extracts in healthy or diseased individuals. However, firm conclusions regarding the preventive value of berry (poly)phenols cannot be drawn due to the small number of existing studies and limitations that apply to the available data, such as lack of controls or failure to assess the absorption and metabolism of (poly)phenols. Although the current evidence is promising, more long-term RCTs are needed to establish the role of berry (poly)phenols to support cardiovascular health.

Berries, especially members of several families, such as Rosaceae (strawberry, raspberry, blackberry), and Ericaceae (blueberry, cranberry), belong to the best dietary sources of bioactive compounds (BAC). They have delicious taste and flavor, have economic importance, and because of the antioxidant properties of BAC, they are of great interest also for nutritionists and food technologists due to the opportunity to use BAC as functional foods ingredients. The bioactive compounds in berries contain mainly phenolic compounds (phenolic acids, flavonoids, such as anthocyanins and flavonols, and tannins) and ascorbic acid. These compounds, either individually or combined, are responsible for various health benefits of berries, such as prevention of inflammation disorders, cardiovascular diseases, or protective effects to lower the risk of various cancers. In this review bioactive compounds of commonly consumed berries are described, as well as the factors influencing their antioxidant capacity and their health benefits.

Research suggests that cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) helps maintain urinary tract health. Bacterial adhesion to the uroepithelium is the initial step in the progression to development of a urinary tract infection. The bacterial anti-adhesion activity of cranberry proanthocyanidins (PACs) has been demonstrated in vitro. Three different cranberry extracts were developed containing a standardized level of 36 mg of PACs. This randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled, ex vivo, acute study was designed to compare the anti-adhesion activity exhibited by human urine following consumption of three different cranberry extracts on uropathogenic P-fimbriated Escherichia coli in healthy men and women. All three cranberry extracts significantly increased anti-adhesion activity in urine. from 6 to 12 hours after intake of a single dose standardized to deliver 36 mg of PACs (as measured by the BL-DMAC method), versus placebo.

The preventive effects of the American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) against urinary tract infections are supported by extensive studies which have primarily focused on its phenolic constituents. Herein, a phenolic-free carbohydrate fraction (designated cranf1b-F2) was purified from cranberry fruit using ion exchange and size exclusion chromatography. MALDI-TOF-MS analysis revealed that the cranf1b-F2 constituents are predominantly oligosaccharides possessing various degrees of polymerisation and further structural analysis (by GC-MS and NMR) revealed mainly xyloglucan and arabinan residues. In antimicrobial assays, cranf1b-F2 (at 1.25 mg/mL concentration) reduced biofilm production by the uropathogenic Escherichia coli CFT073 strain by over 50% but did not inhibit bacterial growth. Cranf1b-F2 (ranging from 0.625 to 10 mg/mL) also inhibited biofilm formation of the non-pathogenic E. coli MG1655 strain up to 60% in a concentration-dependent manner. These results suggest that cranberry oligosaccharides, in addition to its phenolic constituents, may play a role in its preventive effects against urinary tract infections.