Cranberry Research Paper

Introduction

Cranberry juice is a juice that is made from the native fruit plant of North America called cranberries. The scientific name for the cranberry is Vaccinium marcocarpon. Most cranberries are water harvested, which means they are grown by floating in water for easier harvesting. The berries are used to make beverages and dietary supplements. Cranberries have been used for both food and medicine. The Native Americans used the cranberry to treat bladder and kidney diseases.

The discovery of cranberries by the Native Americans has brought on the studies of using cranberry juice to treat urinary tract infections (UTI). Claims that have been used through the years with cranberry juice to benefit the human are reducing the reoccurs of

To have the bacteria that is stuck on the unitary tract wall to be removed the person must get a prescription from a doctor for an antibiotic.

Deficiencies and Causes

An infection usually occurs when the bacteria, Escherichia coli (E. coli), gets into the urine and begins to grow. The infection starts at the opening of the urethra where the urine leaves and moves upward into the urinary tract where it begins. E. coli lives in the colon and around the anus where it is then moved to the urethra. The bacteria travel up the urethra into the bladder, where the infection grows. If the infection is not treated early on with cranberry juice, the infection can develop in the kidney and cause a kidney infection (pyelonephritis).

Studies

The Germans were the first to observe the results of urinary excretion of hippuric acid (urine acid) increased after ingestion of cranberries in the 1880’s. Since the 1880’s many people have done studies on the effects of cranberry juice in urinary tract infections. In 1923, two scientists did a study on the reduction in urine pH level with an increase in excretion of hippuric acid after the subjects ate 350g of cooked cranberries. Blatherwick and Long found that a reduction in urine pH created an increase in urine acid that allowed the bacteria to pass on and not get attached to the wall

published studies that were done on random women. Kontiokari et al. had a open, randomized, controlled trial of 150 women who were divided into three groups. One group drank 50 ml a day of cranberry-lingon juice concentrate containing 7.5g of cranberry concentrate and 1.7 g of lingonberry concentrate (lingonberry is another fruit in the vaccinium group). The second group drank 100 ml of a lactobacillus drink. The last group received no intervention. The study lasted six months in which 16% of the cranberry group, 39% of the lactibacius group and 36% of the controlled group had experienced less than 1 reoccurrence of UTI. The ending resulted in a 20% reduction in absolute risk for the cranberry group. Even after the six months, the cranberry juice group still saw a significantly lower amount of UTIs in one