Summary
Research has increasingly linked chronic inflammation and oxidative stress to cardiovascular disease, prompting interest in natural foods with antioxidant properties. Building on earlier findings that tart cherry juice can lower systolic blood pressure and LDL cholesterol in older adults, this randomized controlled trial tested whether the juice also improves blood markers of inflammation and oxidative stress. Thirty-seven adults aged 65–80 consumed either 480 mL of tart cherry juice or a control drink daily for 12 weeks. By the end of the study, the tart cherry group showed a significant increase in 8-oxoguanine glycosylase activity—an enzyme involved in repairing oxidative DNA damage—and a meaningful reduction in C-reactive protein (CRP), a key marker of inflammation. Group comparisons also revealed lower levels of CRP and malondialdehyde (MDA), with oxidized LDL trending downward. Within the tart cherry group, CRP, MDA, and OxLDL all declined relative to baseline, suggesting a broad anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effect. These results hint that the cardiovascular benefits previously observed with tart cherry juice may stem partly from its ability to reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, though larger and longer-term studies are needed to confirm this potential.
PMID: 30678193
PMCID: PMC6413159
DOI: 10.3390/nu11020228
Abstract
Inflammation and oxidative stress are important factors in the development of cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis. The findings of our previous study suggest that 12 weeks consumption of tart cherry juice lowers the levels of systolic blood pressure (BP) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in older adults. The present study investigated the effects of tart cherry juice on blood biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress. In this randomized-controlled clinical trial, a total of 37 men and women between the ages of 65⁻80 were randomly assigned to consume 480 mL of tart cherry juice or control drink daily for 12 weeks. Several blood biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress were assessed at baseline and after 12 weeks intervention. After the 12 weeks intervention, tart cherry juice significantly increased the plasma levels of DNA repair activity of 8-oxoguanine glycosylase (p < 0.0001) and lowered (p = 0.03) the mean c-reactive protein (CRP) level compared to the control group. There was a significant group effect observed for plasma CRP (p = 0.03) and malondialdehyde (MDA) (p = 0.03), and a borderline significant group effect observed for plasma oxidized low-density lipoprotein (OxLDL) (p = 0.07). Within group analysis showed that the plasma levels of CRP, MDA, and OxLDL decreased numerically by 25%, 3%, and 11%, respectively after 12 weeks of tart cherry juice consumption compared with corresponding baseline values. The present study suggests that the ability of tart cherry juice to reduce systolic BP and LDL cholesterol, in part, may be due to its anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties. Larger and longer follow-up studies are needed to confirm these findings.
Chai SC, Davis K, Zhang Z, Zha L, Kirschner KF. Effects of Tart Cherry Juice on Biomarkers of Inflammation and Oxidative Stress in Older Adults. Nutrients. 2019 Jan 22;11(2):228. doi: 10.3390/nu11020228. PMID: 30678193; PMCID: PMC6413159.