Cranberry is abundant in nutritional components and many bioactive compounds that have antioxidant properties. Antioxidants are compounds that prevent cell damage by countering free reactions in the body.
Both American (Vaccinium macrocarpon) and European (Vaccinium oxycoccus) cranberry species are rich in polyphenols such as phenolic acids, anthocyanins and flavonoids, and is one of the few fruits that is high in proanthocyanidins, which is linked to many health benefits.
Since the seventeenth century, cranberries have been used for an assortment of medicinal purposes: stomach ailments, liver problems and blood disorders.
Cranberries contain a variety of anthocyanins, which are a sub-group of flavonoids, with reports in the literature suggesting flavonoids are powerful antioxidants, protecting the body from oxidative stress.
Anthocyanins were localized in the skin. Proanthocyanins were higher in the skin than in the flesh, with the exception of procyanidin A-2 dimer which was concentrated in the flesh.
Anthocyanins indeed are key antioxidants in cranberries but in some cases flavonoids and proanthocyanidins (PACs) are stronger antioxidants than anthocyanins and ascorbic acid contributes very little to antioxidants content and activity. Proanthocyanidins, the most abundant flavonoids extracted from red cranberry fruits, have been reported to possess antimicrobial, antiadhesion, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties.
Proanthocyanidins may be potential therapeutic agents for the prevention and management of periodontitis, an inflammatory disease of bacterial origin affecting tooth-supporting tissues.
Antioxidants found in cranberries are of special importance and contribute greatly to the wellbeing of the body. PACs inhibit the fimbrial adhesion of bacteria, including Escherichia coli, to the urinary tract epithelium. Of the bacterial cannot adhere, they will be washed away with the flow of urine.
Cranberries are phytochemical phenoms that provide five times the antioxidant content of broccoli due to their high concentration of anthocyanidins. These antioxidants have been shown to inhibit the development of atherosclerosis, cancer and other degenerative disease.
Proanthocyanidins (also known as condensed tannins), a compound that doesn’t let UTI-causing bacteria adhere to the urinary tract lining.
Cranberries also have these antioxidants: quercetin, myricetin, peonidin, ursolic acid, A-type proanthocyanidins.
Antioxidant and bioactive compounds in cranberries
