Despite considerable controversy about their effects, cranberries in various forms have been used widely for several decades to prevent as well as treat urinary tract infections (UTIs). The purpose of this article is to present a review of research-based information regarding the ability of cranberries to prevent UTIs in adults at risk for UTIs. Current evidence suggests that cranberries decrease bacterial adherence to uroepithelial cells and thus decrease
the incidence of UTIs without adverse effects in most individuals. Thus clinicians may safely advise patients that cranberries are helpful in preventing UTIs. Cranberries may be a viable adjunct to antibiotics for patients with repeated UTIs.

BACKGROUND:
Cranberries have been used widely for several decades for the prevention and treatment of urinary tract infections (UTIs). This is the third update of our review first published in 1998 and updated in 2004 and 2008.
OBJECTIVES:
To assess the effectiveness of cranberry products in preventing UTIs in susceptible populations.
SEARCH METHODS:
We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL in The Cochrane Library) and the Internet. We contacted companies involved with the promotion and distribution of cranberry preparations and checked reference lists of review articles and relevant studies.Date of search: July 2012
SELECTION CRITERIA:
All randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or quasi-RCTs of cranberry products for the prevention of UTIs.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS:
Two authors independently assessed and extracted data. Information was collected on methods, participants, interventions and outcomes (incidence of symptomatic UTIs, positive culture results, side effects, adherence to therapy). Risk ratios (RR) were calculated where appropriate, otherwise a narrative synthesis was undertaken. Quality was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool.
MAIN RESULTS:
This updated review includes a total of 24 studies (six cross-over studies, 11 parallel group studies with two arms; five with three arms, and two studies with a factorial design) with a total of 4473 participants. Ten studies were included in the 2008 update, and 14 studies have been added to this update. Thirteen studies (2380 participants) evaluated only cranberry juice/concentrate; nine studies (1032 participants) evaluated only cranberry tablets/capsules; one study compared cranberry juice and tablets; and one study compared cranberry capsules and tablets. The comparison/control arms were placebo, no treatment, water, methenamine hippurate, antibiotics, or lactobacillus. Eleven studies were not included in the meta-analyses because either the design was a cross-over study and data were not reported separately for the first phase, or there was a lack of relevant data. Data included in the meta-analyses showed that, compared with placebo, water or not treatment, cranberry products did not significantly reduce the occurrence of symptomatic UTI overall (RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.71 to 1.04) or for any the subgroups: women with recurrent UTIs (RR 0.74, 95% CI 0.42 to 1.31); older people (RR 0.75, 95% CI 0.39 to 1.44); pregnant women (RR 1.04, 95% CI 0.97 to 1.17); children with recurrent UTI (RR 0.48, 95% CI 0.19 to 1.22); cancer patients (RR 1.15 95% CI 0.75 to 1.77); or people with neuropathic bladder or spinal injury (RR 0.95, 95% CI: 0.75 to 1.20). Overall heterogeneity was moderate (I² = 55%). The effectiveness of cranberry was not significantly different to antibiotics for women (RR 1.31, 95% CI 0.85, 2.02) and children (RR 0.69 95% CI 0.32 to 1.51). There was no significant difference between gastrointestinal adverse effects from cranberry product compared to those of placebo/no treatment (RR 0.83, 95% CI 0.31 to 2.27). Many studies reported low compliance and high withdrawal/dropout problems which they attributed to palatability/acceptability of the products, primarily the cranberry juice. Most studies of other cranberry products (tablets and capsules) did not report how much of the 'active' ingredient the product contained, and therefore the products may not have had enough potency to be effective.
AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS:
Prior to the current update it appeared there was some evidence that cranberry juice may decrease the number of symptomatic UTIs over a 12 month period, particularly for women with recurrent UTIs. The addition of 14 further studies suggests that cranberry juice is less effective than previously indicated. Although some of small studies demonstrated a small benefit for women with recurrent UTIs, there were no statistically significant differences when the results of a much larger study were included. Cranberry products were not significantly different to antibiotics for preventing UTIs in three small studies. Given the large number of dropouts/withdrawals from studies (mainly attributed to the acceptability of consuming cranberry products particularly juice, over long periods), and the evidence that the benefit for preventing UTI is small, cranberry juice cannot currently be recommended for the prevention of UTIs. Other preparations (such as powders) need to be quantified using standardised methods to ensure the potency, and contain enough of the 'active' ingredient, before being evaluated in clinical studies or recommended for use.

Epidemiologic studies indicate that millions of people suffer from recurrent cystitis, a pathology requiring antibiotic prophylaxis and entailing high social costs. Cranberry is a traditional folk remedy for cystitis and, which, in the form of a variety of products and formulations has over several decades undergone extensive evaluation for the management of urinary tract infections (UTI). The aim of this retrospective study is to summarize and review the most relevant and recent preclinical and clinical studies on cranberries for the treatment of UTIs. The scientific literature selected for this review was identified by searches of Medline via PubMed. A variety of recent experimental evidence has shed light on the mechanism underlying the anti-adhesive properties of proanthrocyanidins, their structure-activity relationships, and pharmacokinetics. Analysis of clinical studies and evaluation of the cranberry efficacy/safety ratio in the prevention of UTIs strongly support the use of cranberry in the prophylaxis of recurrent UTIs in young and middle-aged women. However, evidence of its clinical use among other patients remains controversial.

Cranberry juice polyphenols have gained importance over the past decade due to their promising health benefits. The bioactive component, proanthocyanidins is mainly responsible for its protective effect. A lot has been said about its role in urinary tract infection and other systemic diseases, but little is known about its oral benefits. An extensive search was carried out in the PubMed database using the terms "cranberry polyphenols" and "periodontitis" together. The institute library was also thoroughly scrutinized for all relevant information. Thus, a paper was formulated, the aim of which was to review the role of high molecular weight cranberry fraction on oral tissues and periodontal diseases.

Cranberries exert a dose-dependent inhibition of the adherence of E. coli fimbriae to uroepithelial cells. This was demonstrated in vitro but also ex vivo in vitro with urine from cranberry consumers. The active principle has not been identified in detail but type-A proanthocyanidins (PAC) play an important role in the mechanism of action. Since the three species, American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon), European cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccus) and/or lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea), have different patterns of type-A PACs, results from one species cannot be transferred to the others. It seems likely that most of the studies with monopreparations from V. macrocarpon were underdosed. Whereas photometric PAC quantification may overestimate the true content on co-active compounds, reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatograpy may underestimate them. Recent studies with PAC doses in the upper range (DMAC method) or declared type-A PAC content in the daily dose reveal a dose-dependent trend of clinical effectiveness, however, with a possible ceiling effect. In order to clarify this, future three-arm studies should investigate Vaccinium preparations with higher type-A PAC doses than previously used. We analysed two popular European vitis-idaea products, a mother juice and a proprietary extract. Both preparations may be appropriate to confirm the Vaccinium urinary tract infection-preventive effect beyond doubt.

Recent observational and clinical studies have raised interest in the potential health effects of cranberry consumption, an association that appears to be due to the phytochemical content of this fruit. The profile of cranberry bioactives is distinct from that of other berry fruit, being rich in A-type proanthocyanidins (PACs) in contrast to the B-type PACs present in most other fruit. Basic research has suggested a number of potential mechanisms of action of cranberry bioactives, although further molecular studies are necessary. Human studies on the health effects of cranberry products have focused principally on urinary tract and cardiovascular health, with some attention also directed to oral health and gastrointestinal epithelia. Evidence suggesting that cranberries may decrease the recurrence of urinary tract infections is important because a nutritional approach to this condition could lower the use of antibiotic treatment and the consequent development of resistance to these drugs. There is encouraging, but limited, evidence of a cardioprotective effect of cranberries mediated via actions on antioxidant capacity and lipoprotein profiles. The mixed outcomes from clinical studies with cranberry products could result from interventions testing a variety of products, often uncharacterized in their composition of bioactives, using different doses and regimens, as well as the absence of a biomarker for compliance to the protocol. Daily consumption of a variety of fruit is necessary to achieve a healthy dietary pattern, meet recommendations for micronutrient intake, and promote the intake of a diversity of phytochemicals. Berry fruit, including cranberries, represent a rich source of phenolic bioactives that may contribute to human health.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) represent a common and quite costly medical problem, primarily affecting the female population which may be due to a shorter urethra. The bacterium Escherichia coli are mainly responsible for most uncomplicated UTIs. Cranberry antibacterial effects have widely been studied in vitro, and laboratory and clinical studies have also been performed to elucidate the mechanisms of cranberry actions and the clinical benefits of cranberry consumption against UTIs. The present review aimed to summarize the proposed mechanisms of cranberry actions against UTIs and the clinical trials that evaluated the efficacy of supplementing cranberry products in different subpopulations. Taking into consideration the existing data, cranberry consumption may prevent bacterial adherence to uroepithelial cells which reduces the development of UTI. Cranberry consumption could also decreasing UTI related symptoms by suppressing inflammatory cascades as an immunologic response to bacteria invasion. The existing clinical trials suggest that the beneficial effects of cranberry against UTIs seem to be prophylactic by preventing the development of infections; however, they exert low effectiveness in populations at increased risk for contracting UTIs. Additional well-designed, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials that use standardized cranberry products are strongly justified in order to determine the efficiency of cranberry on the prevention of UTIs in susceptible populations. Copyright 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The "A-type" proanthocyanidins in cranberry fruit (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) are bioactive components associated with prevention of urinary tract infections (UTI). Cranberry juice, fruit (fresh and dried), functional foods, and cranberry dietary supplements are promoted for prevention of UTI and for maintenance of urinary tract health (UTH), on the basis of their content of cranberry proanthocyanidins (c-PAC) with "A-type" interflavan bonds. With increasing consumer use of cranberries for maintenance of UTH and an expanding number of commercial cranberry products of different types, the availability of unified methods for measuring levels of c-PAC is important. This review discusses quantitative and qualitative analysis of c-PAC with "A-type" interflavan bonds in relation to their biological activity for UTI prevention. The integrity (including authenticity, standardization, efficacy, and safety) of cranberry fruit, juices, and dietary supplements may now be measured by using recent advances in mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography, production of c-PAC standards, and improved simple quantitative techniques.

Recent observational and clinical studies have raised interest in the
potential health effects of cranberry consumption, an association that
appearsto be due to the phytochemical content of this fruit. The profile of
cranberry bioactives is distinct from that of other berry fruit, being
rich in A-type proanthocyanidins (PACs) in contrast to the B-type PACs present
in most other fruit. Basic research has suggested a number of potential
mechanisms of action of cranberry bioactives, although further molecular
studies are necessary. Human studies on the health effects of cranberry
products have focused principally on urinary tract and cardiovascular
health, with some attention also directed to oral health and
gastrointestinal epithelia. Evidence suggesting that cranberries may decrease the
recurrence of urinary tract infections is important because a nutritional
approach to this condition could lower the use of antibiotic treatment
and the consequent development of resistance to these drugs. There is
encouraging, but limited, evidence of a cardioprotective effect of
cranberries mediated via actions on antioxidant capacity and lipoprotein
profiles. The mixed outcomes from clinical studies with cranberry
products could result from interventions testing a variety of products,
often uncharacterized in their composition of bioactives, using different
doses and regimens, as well as the absence of a biomarker for compliance
to the protocol. Daily consumption of a variety of fruit is necessary to
achieve a healthy dietary pattern, meet recommendations for micronutrient
intake, and promote the intake of a diversity of phytochemicals. Berry
fruit, including cranberries, represent a rich source of phenolic bioactives
that may contribute to human health.

BACKGROUND Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most commonly acquired bacterial infections. Cranberry-containing products have long been used as a folk remedy to prevent UTIs. The aims of this study were to evaluate cranberry-containing products for the prevention of UTI and to examine the factors influencing their effectiveness. METHODS MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were systemically searched from inception to November 2011 for randomized controlled trials that compared prevention of UTIs in users of cranberry-containing products vs placebo or nonplacebo controls. There were no restrictions for language, population, or publication year. RESULTS Thirteen trials, including 1616 subjects, were identified for qualitative synthesis from 414 potentially relevant references; 10 of these trials, including a total of 1494 subjects, were further analyzed in quantitative synthesis. The random-effects pooled risk ratio (RR) for cranberry users vs nonusers was 0.62 (95% CI, 0.49-0.80), with a moderate degree of heterogeneity (I2 = 43%) after the exclusion of 1 outlier study. On subgroup analysis, cranberry-containing products seemed to be more effective in several subgroups, including women with recurrent UTIs (RR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.33-0.83) (I2 = 0%), female populations (RR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.34-0.73) (I2 = 34%), children (RR, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.16-0.69) (I2 = 0%), cranberry juice drinkers (RR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.30-0.72) (I2 = 2%), and subjects using cranberry-containing products more than twice daily (RR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.40-0.84) (I2 = 18%). CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicate that cranberry-containing products are associated with protective effect against UTIs. However, this result should be interpreted in the context of substantial heterogeneity across trials.