Cranberry is a fruit native to North America and is a staple of Thanksgiving and Christmas meals in many homes. Anecdotal reports and a few clinical trials have suggested that cranberry juice may also function as a treatment for urinary tract infections; however, the actual scientific evidence is inconclusive and contradictory. Cranberry may also have some positive effects for prostate health, but the scientific data is limited. Consult your doctor about the use of cranberry juice in prostate health. Do not use cranberry in place of prescribed medications.
Prostatitis
Chronic bacterial prostatitis, or CBP, is a bacterial infection of the prostate caused by a variety of reasons including age, injury, alcohol use and unsafe sexual practices. According to the November 2010 issue of the "Journal of Infection and Chemotherapy," Dr. Sang Hoon Kim found that cranberry juice significantly decreased the amount of bacteria in rats with CBP; however, cranberry was not as effective as antibiotics. Please consult your doctor before using cranberry for CBP treatment. Antibiotics are still necessary and if CBP is not treated properly, it can result is serious health complications.
Cell Growrh
Extracts from the cranberry hull, or skin, have a high concentration of antioxidant compounds, which can have many potential effects against cancer. According to the June 2004 issue of the "Journal of Nutrition," Dr. Peter Ferguson found that an experimental cranberry hull extract significantly decreased cell growth of numerous cancer cell lines, including two human prostate cancer cells. According to the March 2007 issue of "Anticancer Research," Dr. Dominique Boivin found that cranberry works, in part, by blocking several proteins essential for the cell cycle, the cellular process that governs proliferation.
Apoptosis
Drs. Ferguson and Boivin also found that cranberry extract can successfully induce apoptosis, or programmed cell death, in prostate cancer cell lines. The induction of apoptosis in cancer cells is an essential factor in chemotherapeutic drugs. Dr. Boivin found that cranberry extract works, in part, by increasing the activity of caspase proteins. Under stressful circumstances or certain signaling cues, activation of caspase proteins will induce cellular apoptosis of any type of cell.
Invasion
According to an article in the October 2010 issue of the "Journal of Cellular Biochemistry," cranberry juice extract added to prostate cancer cell lines decreased the activity of important MMP proteins. These proteins are often highly expressed in cancer cells and play an essential role in tumor cell invasion, a process that allows cancer cells to invade normal healthy tissue. By blocking the activity of these proteins, cranberry may also block prostate cancer progression.
References
- Medline Plus: Cranberry
- Medline Plus: Prostatitis -- Bacterial Chronic
- "Journal of Infection and Chemotherapy"; Do Escherichia Coli Extract and Cranberry Exert Preventive Effects on Chronic Bacterial Prostatitis? Pilot Study Using an Animal Model; Sang Hoon Kim, etal; November 2010
- "Journal of Nutrition"; A Flavonoid Fraction from Cranberry Extract Inhibits Proliferation of Human Tumor Cell Lines; Peter J. Ferguson, et al.; June 2004
- "Anticancer Research"; Inhibition of Cancer Cell Proliferation and Suppression of TNF-induced Activation of NFκB by Edible Berry Juice; Dominique Boivin, et al.; March 2007
- "Journal of Cellular Biochemistry"; Proanthocyanidins from the American Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) Inhibit Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 and Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 Activity in Human Prostate Cancer Cells via Alterations in Multiple Cellular Signalling Pathways; Bob A. Déziel, et al.; October 2010
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