American Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) and the Maintenance of Urinary Tract Health

Abstract

The juice of the fruit of the American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) is by far the most popular and widely used botanical preparation for the prevention and treatment of urinary tract infections. To date, most of the med- ical research on cranberry consists of observational clinical trials yielding mixed results or preclinical studies, the latter focusing on mechanisms of action, many of which are relevant to the putative benefits attributed to cran- berry. Cranberry benefits are primarily linked to the presence of proanthocy- anidin (PAC) oligomers, also referred to as condensed tannins or polyflavan-3-ols, and their capacity to prevent bacteria, particularly E. coli, from adhering to uroepithelial cells. In the following, we present a summary of the state of cranberry research in the context of urinary tract health with focus on data derived from clinical settings. The overall consensus from recent reviews and meta-analyses is that there are beneficial effects of cran- berry consumption on reducing risk of UTI recurrence.