information about cherry juice: a natural painkiller

Cherry Juice Reduces Muscle Pain
June 22, 2006 -- Cherry juice might not be the most common juice selection out there, but new information about the benefits of the juice and exercise suggest maybe it should be.

According to researchers from the University of Vermont in Burlington, VT, cherry juice can reduce muscle pain and damage induced by exercise. The authors say there have been many attempts to solve the dual muscle problem in the past, but few have been effective.

The study was comprised of 14 volunteers. They were asked to drink fresh cherry juice blended with commercial apple juice twice a day for three days before exercise and four days afterward, or to drink a mixture containing no cherry juice.

When the study was complete, there was a significant difference in the degree of muscle strength loss between those drinking the cherry juice blend and those taking the random mixture.

The authors conclude, "These results have important practical applications for athletes, as performance after damaging exercise bouts is primarily affected by strength loss and pain."

SOURCE: British Journal of Sports Medicine, published online June 22, 2006

Cherry Juice Concentrate was front and center in a NewsWeek article on the health benefits of consuming certain foods that are rich in anthocyanins. The focus of the story was on how scientists are trying to clinically prove some of the folk remedies that have been around for years. One particular folk remedy is that cherries will help relieve the pain associated with arthritis and gout. Some of this clinical work is being done at Michigan State University (MSU) National Food Safety and Toxicology Center. At MSU, scientists have discovered that the anthocyanins in tart cherries give ten times the anti-inflammatory relief of aspirin.

Natural Painkillers And Strong Antioxidants Found in Tart Cherries

The Chemicals that give tart cherries their red color may relieve pain better than aspirin and may provide antioxidant protection comparable to commercially available supplements like vitamin E, according to a Michigan State University researchers. The new findings "suggest that the consumption of cherries may have the potential to reduce cardiovascular or chronic diseases in humans (such as arthritis and gout)." write the scientists.

The research will be published in the January 28th web edition of the peer-reviewed Journal of Natural Products, published by the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. It will appear in the journal's February print edition.

While cautioning that studies have not yet been conducted with human subjects, lead author Muralee G. Nair, Ph.D., says their laboratory assay results suggest that a person eating about 20 tart cherries could realize antioxidant or anti-inflammatory benefits. That number of cherries contains 12-25 milligrams of the active compounds, called anthocyanins, according to the authors.

In the study, anthocyanins were found to prevent oxidative damage, caused by oxygen or free radicals, about as well as compounds in commercial antioxidants. They also inhibited enzymes called cyclooxygenase-1 and -2, the targets of anti-inflammatory drugs, at doses more than ten times lower than aspirin. "It is as good as ibuprofen and some of the nonsteriodal anti-inflammatory drugs," says Nair.

"Daily consumption of cherries has the potential to reduce pain related to inflammation, arthritis and gout," added Nair. While reiterating the need for human studies, he says a market may one day exist for putting the anthocyanins in pill form:"Then people can pop a pill instead of eating a whole bowl full of sour cherries. That's pretty hard to do."

Date: 2/1/1999
Source: American Chemical Society
A nonprofit organization with a membership of nearly 159,000 chemists and chemical engineers, the American Chemical Society publishes scientific journals and databases, convenes major research conferences, and provides education, science policy, and career programs in chemistry. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C. and Columbus, Ohio.