Abstract 19732: Low Calorie Cranberry Juice Reduces Risk Factors of Cardiovascular Disease in Adults

Abstract

Foods rich in phenolics are associated with reduced risk for cardiovascular disease. Cranberry juice is rich in a variety of phenolic compounds, including flavonoids. We conducted a double-blind, placebo controlled randomized clinical trial to investigate the effect of daily consumption of a low calorie cranberry juice beverage on risk factors of cardiovascular disease. Volunteers (n=26 men and n=30 women), aged 51+11 years, with a body weight of 79.3+8.8 kg and BMI of 28.4+4.3 (mean+SD) consumed a low calorie cranberry juice beverage or a color/flavor/calorie-matched placebo beverage as part of a controlled diet for 8 weeks. The controlled diet consisted of typical American foods, and menus were scaled to meet volunteers’ individual energy requirements such that body weight did not change during the study. Fasting blood samples were collected immediately prior to the intervention and after 4 weeks and 8 weeks of treatment. Outcome variables were compared between treatments with a mixed model ANOVA, and values at 4 weeks and 8 weeks of treatment were compared to baseline with a repeated measures ANOVA. After 8 weeks of cranberry juice beverage consumption, c-reactive protein was significantly lower compared to that after consumption of the placebo beverage (LSmeans+SEM of 2.74+0.56 mg/L for cranberry juice compared to 3.83+0.59 mg/L for placebo). Soluble ICAM-1 was also significantly lower after consumption of cranberry juice compared to placebo (LSmeans+SEM of 257.3+10.6 ng/mL for cranberry juice compared to 288.9+11.1 ng/mL for placebo). In addition, triglycerides were significantly reduced from baseline when volunteers consumed the cranberry juice (mean+SEM reduction of 14.2+5.7 mg/dL for cranberry juice compared to 1.5+4.9 mg/dL for placebo. The significant decrease in c-reactive protein, an important biomarker of inflammation and a clinically relevant risk factor for several cardiovascular diseases, suggests that cranberry juice beverage could ameliorate an underlying physiological state (inflammation) associated with risk for disease. Incorporation of a low calorie cranberry juice beverage into the diet of adults appears to reduce risk factors of cardiovascular disease.