Cranberries to fight ulcers, new research

Cranberry compounds may be effective against H. pylori​, the bacteria that cause some ulcers, according to a joint study carried out at Tel Aviv University, The Weizmann Institute of Science and Haifa Technion. The in vitro research, funded by Ocean Spray​, suggests that cranberry's bacterial anti-adhesion mechanism may be a new tool to fight ulcers and the bacteria that cause them, even when the bacteria have already adhered to the stomach lining. The focus of the findings centres on compounds found in cranberries that are responsible for the anti-adhesion effect andtheir ability to disable certain harmful bacteria that cause infection in various parts of the body. This recent study builds on previous in vitro research from Rutgers University that revealed how compounds in cranberry calledproanthocyanidins, or condensed tannins, can disable certain E. coli bacteria so the bacteria can't stick to the urinary tract cells. E. coli bacteria cause 80-90percent of urinary tract infections. A recently published study from the University of Western Ontario of catheterised patients also indicates that cranberryjuice cocktail helped prevent bacteria from adhering to bladder cells. Martin Starr, Ph.D., Director of Health and Wellness at Ocean Spray commented, "We hope this promising new science leads to future breakthroughs around the health benefits ofthe cranberry." Full findings are published in the published in the Federation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMS​) journal