Issue 6, 2018

Impact of tart cherry juice on systolic blood pressure and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in older adults: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Hypertension and dyslipidemia are major risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Common treatments for high blood pressure (BP) and dyslipidemia include medications, but there is question as to whether natural sources may be adequate to reduce CVD risk factors. We examined the effects of tart cherry juice on lipid profiles, BP, glucose, insulin, and homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in older adults. In this randomized-controlled clinical trial, 17 men and 20 women between the ages of 65–80 years were randomly assigned to consume 480 ml of tart cherry juice or control drink daily for 12 weeks. Control beverages were matched for energy and sugar content. Outcome variables were assessed at baseline and after 12 weeks of tart cherry juice or control drink. Systolic BP and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) exhibited treatment × time interaction effects. At the end of the study, participants in the tart cherry group had lower levels of LDL cholesterol (difference of −20.6 with P = 0.001) and total cholesterol (difference of −19.11 with P = 0.01), and higher levels of glucose (difference of 7.94 with P = 0.001), triglycerides (difference of 6.66 with P = 0.01) and BMI (difference of 1.06 with P = 0.02) than in the control group. Neither tart cherry juice nor control significantly altered body weight, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, diastolic BP, insulin and HOMA-IR. Our findings show that tart cherry juice can lower the levels of systolic BP and LDL cholesterol. However, larger and longer follow-up studies are needed to further assess cardio-protective effects of tart cherry juice.

Graphical abstract: Impact of tart cherry juice on systolic blood pressure and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in older adults: a randomized controlled trial

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
12 Mar 2018
Accepted
21 May 2018
First published
04 Jun 2018
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Food Funct., 2018,9, 3185-3194

Impact of tart cherry juice on systolic blood pressure and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in older adults: a randomized controlled trial

S. C. Chai, K. Davis, R. S. Wright, M. F. Kuczmarski and Z. Zhang, Food Funct., 2018, 9, 3185 DOI: 10.1039/C8FO00468D

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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