Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies
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Focus Alternat Complement Ther©2005 Pharmaceutical Press
Focus Altern Complement Ther 2005; 10: 41
The aim of the study was to evaluate the presence of antimicrobial activity in urine specimens after ingestion of Vaccinium (cranberry) capsules.
Fourteen subjects (two men and 12 women) without urinary tract infection were included in this study. Urine specimens were collected before (control), 2, 4 and 6 h after ingestion of 900 mg of cranberry. The pH was adjusted to the control specimen pH and then filtered. Each specimen was inoculated with 102–3 cell/ml of E. coli, K. pneumoniae or Candida albicans. After a standard time of incubation, the colony forming units per millilitre (CFU/ml) of each specimen were enumerated by subculture with quantitative plate counts in duplicate. The number of CFU/ml in control specimens were then compared with CFU/ml from specimens collected after ingestion of cranberry. A 50% or greater reduction in CFU/ml compared to controls was considered as having ‘activity’ against the strains tested.
Activity was identified in seven out of 14 (50%) subjects (CFU/ml 0.4–3.3 log10 less than controls) against E. coli, in nine out of 14 subjects (64%) (0.32–1.4 log10) for K. pneumoniae and in nine out of 14 subjects (64%) (0.3–2log10) for C. albicans.
Our study demonstrates 50–64% antibacterial activity against E. coli, K. pneumoniae and C. albicans 2 to 6 h after ingestion of 900 mg of Vaccinium (cranberry). Additional studies are warranted to determine timed growth curve patterns, the study of additional strains and species, and dosing over a longer time period.
