Ericaceae Large or American cranberry (V. macrocarpon); small, European, common or northern cranberry (V. oxycoccos) Vacciniae fructus Fresh or dried ripe fruit, juice derived from the fruit; cranberry liquid preparation The main active components are thought to be the A-type proanthocyanidins (PACs), and other polyphenolics including chlorogenic and p-coumaric acids, flavonoids and organic acids such as malic, citric, quinic and benzoic acids (WHO 2009; Williamson et al. 2013). Cranberry varieties and products vary widely in PAC content and recent research shows that it is important to characterise these in order to ensure therapeutic efficacy (Chrubasik-Hausmann and Vlachojannis 2014). Despite many clinical studies, the clinical benefits of cranberry are not conclusively proven. Despite beneficial outcomes from many clinical studies and positive assessments from other systematic reviews, the latest Cochrane review on the use of cranberries for the prevention of UTIs concludes that there is still limited evidence of efficacy compared to placebo (Jepson et al. 2012). The equivocal results are exacerbated by differences in the products tested, and it is now recognised that preparations standardised to clinically relevant active compounds (e.g. A-type PACs) are needed to clarify the clinical recommendations (Chrubasik-Hausmann and Vlachojannis 2014). A randomised, placebo-controlled parallel intervention study showed that consumption of cranberry polyphenols enhanced human T cell proliferation and reduced the number of symptoms associated with colds and influenza. Subjects drank a low calorie cranberry beverage (450 ml) made with a juice-derived, powdered cranberry fraction (n = 22) or a placebo beverage (n = 23), daily, for 10 weeks. Although incidence of illness was not reduced, significantly fewer symptoms of illness were reported in the cranberry treated group (Nantz et al. 2013).
Cranberry
Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton, V. oxycoccos L.
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Prevention and treatment of urinary tract infection:
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