Cherry consumption lowers plasma urate - Positive Effects of Foods

Nutrition Research Newsletter, June, 2003

Fruits contain phytochemicals that may lower the risk of cancer, heart disease, and other chronic diseases. Both sweet and tart cherries are rich in antioxidants, including anthocyanins, catechins, chlorogenic acid, flavonal glycosides, and melatonin. Anthocyanins extracted from cherries have shown to contain anti-inflammatory properties, through inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX) activities and scavenging of the reactive nitric oxide (NO) radical.

Consumption of cherries and cherry products has been reported to be health promoting, particularly to alleviate arthritic pain and gout. Clinical case reports of three patients with gout showed that consumption of 227 g of cherry products daily for three days to three months reduced plasma urate to normal levels and alleviated attacks of gouty arthritis. However, the purative anti-gout and anti-inflammatory properties of cherries have not been assessed in controlled experimental studies. A recent study in the Journal of Nutrition determined the extent of the anti-gout and anti-inflammatory effects in healthy women consuming an acute dose of Bing sweet cherries.

Ten healthy women were asked to refrain from consuming fruits and vegetables or their juices, tea, or wine for two days before the experimental cherry dose to partially standardize and limit intake of antioxidants. The subjects then consumed 280 g of depitted cherries (approximately 45 cherries) after an overnight fast. Plasma urate, antioxidant, and inflammatory markers were measured before the cherries, and at 1.5, 3, and 5 hours after the cherries were consumed.

Plasma urate decreased significantly at five hours post-dose, compared with the baseline measure, while urinary urate increased over the five hours post-dose and at each post-dose, sampling time compared with baseline. Among inflammatory biomarkers, plasma tumor necrosis factor (TNF-a) did not change after cherry consumption. However, plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) and nitric oxide (NO) concentrations marginally decreased three hours post-dose. The vitamin C content of the cherries was solely as dehydroascorbic acid, but post-dose increase in plasma ascorbic acid indicated that dehydroascorbic acid in fruits is bioavailable as vitamin C.

The decrease in plasma urate after cherry consumption supports the anti-gout properties of cherries. The data cannot establish the mechanism whereby cherry consumption lowers plasma urate. However, the trend toward decreased plasma concentrations of the inflammatory markers CRP and NO adds to the in vitro evidence that compounds in cherries may inhibit inflammatory pathways. Further research is required to determine the potential of cherry and polyphenol consumption for inhibiting the inflammatory cascade and for improving the condition of individuals who are at risk or who suffer from gout and arthritis.

Robert A. Jacob, Giovanna M. Spinozzi, and Vicky A. Simon. Consumption of Cherries Lowers Plasma Urate in Healthy Women, J. Nutr. (133: 1826-1829, 2003). Address correspondence to: Robert A. Jacob, US Department of Agriculture/ARS Western Human Nutrition Research Center, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616. E-mail: rjacob@whnrc.usda.gov