Cran-C-Plex 100 Caps

Cranberry juice has been recognized over the pastfew decades for its useful role in reducing urinarytract infections (UTI). Initially its beneficialproperties were attributed to its ability to acidify urinedue to its content of organic acids, such as benzoic,malic, quinic, ellagic, shikimic, and citric acids.Metabolism of benzoic acid presumably produces asignificant amount of hippuric acid, suggested to bebacteriostatic for Escherichia coli, a UTI pathogen.Nevertheless, recent research indicates that othermechanisms may be responsible. These bioactivecomponents of the cranberry (Vacciniummacrocarpon) may reduce UTI by inhibitingadherence of pathogenic bacteria to urinary epithilialcells and their subsequent proliferation and infection.Bacteria most often associated with UTI, such asEscherichia coli, adhere to epithilial cells viamolecules called adhesins, produced by fimbriae,proteinaceous fibers on the bacterial cell surface.It appears that two components of cranberry inhibitbacterial adhesion: fructose and proanthocyanidins.Fructose, a sugar typically found in fruit, has beensuggested to inhibit adherence of E. coli with type 1fimbriae, while cranberry proanthocyanidins havebeen shown to prevent P-fimbriated E. coli fromadhering to urinary tract cells. The vitamin C in Cran-C-Plex augments the natural antioxidant power ofthese proanthocyanidins.Recent research has supported the use of cranberrybeverage in reducing bacteriuria and pyuria inwomen. In a randomized, double-blind, placebocontrolledtrial, over 150 elderly women wereassigned to consume either a placebo or cranberrybeverage (300 mL/d). Those women consuming thecranberry beverage had only 42% of the odds in thecontrol group of bacteriuria with pyuria. Theresearchers felt that the effect of consuming thecranberry beverage was more pronounced in reducingbacteriuria with pyuria rather than preventing it.