Cranberries Help to Protect Artery Health

Cranberries are rich in proanthocyanadins, compounds with potent antioxidant activity.  Amir Lerman, from the Mayo Clinic (Minnesota, USA), and colleagues enrolled 54 men and women, average age 49.5 years, randomly assigning each to either receive two glasses of cranberry juice a day for four months, or a placebo drink. The team utilized an imaging technique to analyze changes in the blood vessels, and took blood samples to assess for levels of endothelial progenitor cells and osteocalcin, markers that are associated with arterial hardening.  Among the study subjects who drank the cranberry juice, the expression of osteocalcin by endothelial progenitor cells was greatly reduced, as compared to the placebo group, leading the study authors to conclude that: “the decrease in the fraction of osteocalcin+ [endothelial progenitor cells]  suggests a potential beneficial effect of polyphenol-rich [cranberry juice].”