Effects of Montmorency tart cherry (Prunus Cerasus L.) consumption on vascular function in men with early hypertension

Keane, Karen M, George, Trevor W, Constantinou, Costas L, Brown, Meghan A ORCID: 0000-0003-3260-977X, Clifford, Tom and Howatson, Glyn (2016) Effects of Montmorency tart cherry (Prunus Cerasus L.) consumption on vascular function in men with early hypertension. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. doi:10.3945/ajcn.115.123869

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Tart cherries contain numerous polyphenolic compounds that could potentially improve endothelial function and reduce cardiovascular disease risk. OBJECTIVE: We sought to examine the acute effects of Montmorency tart cherry (MC) juice on vascular function in subjects with early hypertension. DESIGN: A placebo-controlled, blinded, crossover, randomized Latin square design study with a washout period of ≥14 d was conducted. Fifteen men with early hypertension [systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥130 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure ≥80 mm Hg, or both] received either a 60-mL dose of MC concentrate or placebo. Microvascular reactivity (laser Doppler imaging with iontophoresis), arterial stiffness (pulse wave velocity and analysis), blood pressure, and phenolic acid absorption were assessed at baseline and at 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8 h postconsumption. RESULTS: MC consumption significantly lowered SBP (P < 0.05) over a period of 3 h, with peak reductions of mean ± SEM 7 ± 3 mm Hg 2 h after MC consumption relative to the placebo. Improvements in cardiovascular disease risk factors were closely linked to increases in circulating protocatechuic and vanillic acid at 1-2 h. CONCLUSIONS: MC intake acutely reduces SBP in men with early hypertension. These benefits may be mechanistically linked to the actions of circulating phenolic acids. This study provides information on a new application of MCs in health maintenance, particularly in positively modulating SBP. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02234648.

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Free access article, distributed under terms http://www.nutrition.org/publications/guidelines-and-policies/ that permit unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium provided the original work is properly cited. ©American Society for Nutrition
Subjects:	R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC1200 Sports Medicine
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > School of Education and Science
Research Priority Areas:	Health, Life Sciences, Sport and Wellbeing
Depositing User:	Meghan Brown
Date Deposited:	10 Oct 2016 11:55
Last Modified:	31 Aug 2023 09:09
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/4078

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