Cranberry |
Ginecol Obstet Mex. 2009 Nov;77(11):512-7.
[Cranberry juice and its role in urinary infections]
[Original Article in Spanish]
Ruz EN, González CC, Jaen Sde L, Escoto PG, Urquiza EK, Rosenfield LO, Ortiz CS, Castellanos PV.
Grupo Multidisciplinario para el Estudio del Arándano, México.
The urinary tract infection is a worldwide health problem, with a ratio of 9 to 1 in women compared with men. In 80% of the cases, the causing bacteria is Escherichia coli. During reproductive life this infection represents a great amount of work disabilities, hence the need to insist on its prophylaxis. The red cranberry juice is an option to prevent urinary tract infection, a quality demonstrated in several recent publications which emphasize that its mechanism of action lies in the effect exerted by proantocyanidines, especially those of type A, in the urothelium that prevent Escherichia coli from adhering to this and exerts its antibacterial action, which is achieved with the ingestion of at least 300 mL of juice every day .
Source: PubMed
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20085135
J Agric Food Chem. 2010 Jan 28.
Regulation of Vascular Endothelial Function by Procyanidin-Rich Foods and Beverages (dagger).
Caton PW, Pothecary MR, Lees DM, Khan NQ, Wood EG, Shoji T, Kanda T, Rull G, Corder R.
Queen Mary University of London, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ , United Kingdom .
Flavonoid-rich diets are associated with a lower mortality from cardiovascular disease. This has been linked to improvements in endothelial function. However, the specific flavonoids, or biologically active metabolites, conferring these beneficial effects have yet to be fully defined. In this experimental study of the effect of flavonoids on endothelial function cultured endothelial cells have been used as a bioassay with endothelin-1 (ET-1) synthesis being measured an index of the response. Evaluation of the relative effects of extracts of cranberry juice compared to apple, cocoa, red wine, and green tea showed inhibition of ET-1 synthesis was dependent primarily on their oligomeric procyanidin content. Procyanidin-rich extracts of cranberry juice triggered morphological changes in endothelial cells with reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton and increased immunostaining for phosphotyrosine residues. These actions were independent of antioxidant activity. Comparison of the effects of apple procyanidin monomers through heptamer showed a clear structure-activity relationship. Although monomer, dimer, and trimer had little effect on ET-1 synthesis, procyanidin tetramer, pentamer, hexamer, and heptamer produced concentration-dependent decreases with IC(50) values of 5.4, 1.6, 0.9, and 0.7 muM, respectively. Levels of ET-1 mRNA showed a similar pattern of decreases, which were inversely correlated with increased expression of Kruppel-like factor 2 (KLF2), a key endothelial transcription factor with a broad range of antiatherosclerotic actions including suppression of ET-1 synthesis. Future investigations of procyanidin-rich products should assess the role KLF2 induction plays in the beneficial vascular effects of high flavonoid consumption .
Source: PubMed
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20108902
Altern Ther Health Med. 2009 Mar-Apr;15(2):32-8.
Cranberry constituents affect fructosyltransferase expression in Streptococcus mutans.
Feldman M, Weiss E, Shemesh M, Ofek I, Bachrach G, Rozen R, Steinberg D.
Institute of Dental Sciences, Department of Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Hebrew University-Hadassah, Jerusalem , Israel .
CONTEXT: Cranberry juice has long been recognized in folk medicine as a therapeutic agent, mainly in urinary tract infections. Its proposed mechanism of action is antiadhesion of bacteria. OBJECTIVE: Investigation of the potential antiadhesion effect of nondialyzed material of cranberry (NDM) via its influence on secretion, gene expression, and promoter activity of the fructosyltransferase (FTF), which is among the extracellular enzymes associated with dental biofilm formation and pathogenesis of oral bacteria. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Secretion of FTF from Streptococcus mutans, in the presence of NDM, was measured by immunoblotting and confocal scanning laser microscopy. Its influence on ftf gene expression was determined by reverse transcription followed by real-time RT-PCR. The luciferase assay was used to detect bioluminescence expressed by the ftf promoter activity of bacteria exposed to NDM. RESULTS: NDM at concentrations between 0.2/mL and 1mg/mL significantly (P<.05) decreased secretion of extracellular FTF, as well as down-regulated ftf expression in a dose-dependent manner. NDM also markedly reduced the luciferase activity under the ftf promoter.
Source: PubMed