Lee Swanson Research Update

Study Explains How Cranberries Help Prevent Urinary Infections

August 2008

The National Health Information Center reports: “Researchers at Worcester (MA) Polytechnic Institute say they have solved the mystery of how cranberry juice prevents urinary tract infections.”

Their study, published in the journal Colloids and Surfaces B, shows that the juice changes the thermodynamic properties of bacteria in the urinary tract to form an energy barrier that prevents infections from developing.

The research team found that when bacteria with hair-like projections known as fimbriae, which are present on bacteria that cause UTIs, is exposed to even low concentrations of cranberry juice, energy levels increased to a point that made it difficult for the bacteria to attach to a cell.

When the bacteria and urinary tract cells were placed in a solution, fewer attachments were observed as the concentrations of cranberry juice were added to the mix. The juice did not appear to affect bacteria without fimbriae, which suggests something in the juice may directly change the molecular structure of the fimbriae themselves.

“Our results show that, at least for urinary tract infections, cranberry juice targets the right bacteria—those that cause disease—but has no effect on non-pathogenic organisms, suggesting that cranberry juice will not disrupt bacteria that are part of the normal flora in the gut,” Terri Camesano, an associated professor of chemical engineering at WPI, said.

Camesano said that unpublished work also shows cranberry juice has potent effects on disease-causing bacteria, but that the effect is temporary. “This suggests that to realize the antibacterial benefits of cranberry, one must consume cranberry juice regularly, perhaps daily,” she said.

Colloids and Surfaces B 65(1):35-42, 2008

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