Influence of Tart Cherry Juice Intervention on Vascular Function

Northumbria University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Dietary Exposure; Metabolic Disturbance

Treatments: Dietary Supplement: Cherry juice; Dietary Supplement: Placebo

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04840160

lucymurray2016

Details and patient eligibility

About

Diets containing fruit rich in anthocyanins have been shown (in meta-analyses) to be beneficial for health, but intervention trials have shown inconsistent results. In this preliminary study we want to investigate the influence of a tart-cherry juice intervention on vascular function and explore metabolite profiles that may offer insight into their mechanism of action

Full description

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the primary cause of morbidity and mortality. Tart cherries (TC) can positively impact major risk factors of CVD, activities thought to be related to their phytochemical content. However, data from human trials is less clear. TC have been shown to reduce systolic blood pressure (SBP) after acute, short-term and chronic intake, and to improve vascular dysfunction, presumably due to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Other studies have not shown benefits of TC on SBP or vascular function and studies are difficult to interpret with different populations, dosing and durations being used as well as a lack of understanding for any underlying mechanisms. To account for the latter, the use of metabolomics has become increasingly popular in nutritional research. Therefore, the aim of this preliminary study was to characterise the effects of TC supplementation on vascular function with a 4-week intervention and explore if metabolomics can provide mechanistic evidence and this will inform for future chronic studies with TC juice.

Enrollment: 23 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 19 to 40 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• aged 19-40
• no diagnosed issues with the ability to consume fruit juice
• no known food intolerances to fruits

Exclusion criteria

• participants that are cigarette smokers
• participants diagnosed with hypertension
• participants diagnosed with any form of cardiometabolic diseases
• participants that require any prescribed prescriptions excluding the contraceptive pill
• participants that are regular consumers of cherries (>100 g/d)
• participants that consume any antioxidant supplements

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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23 participants in 2 patient groups, including a placebo group

Placebo

Placebo Comparator group

Description:

Participants supplied with 30 ml of a low fruit (\<1%) cordial mixed with maltodextrin and protein diluted in 100 ml water twice daily, once in the morning and evening.

Treatment:

Dietary Supplement: Placebo

Cherry juice

Experimental group

Description:

Participants supplied with 30 ml of a tart cherry juice concentrate (CherryActive, United Kingdom; (containing 36.8 mg of anthocyanins) diluted in 100 ml of water twice daily, once in the morning and evening.

Treatment:

Dietary Supplement: Cherry juice