Cranberries benefit heart health and blood pressure, confirms research

New research from cranberry-producing giant Ocean Spray has revealed that the small red fruit could help modulate blood pressure and blood flow. This is the result of a study commissioned by Ocean Spray in tandem with technology firm Canomiks.  

Canomiks – a company that uses a genomics and AI-based platform to innovate, validate, test and certify the biological worth and safety of ingredients – evaluated the bioactive components of cranberry. These components, called polyphenols, were tested to demonstrate that they can positively influence pathways responsible for modulating blood pressure and blood flow. 

Ocean Spray provided concentrate and fruit extracts containing naturally occurring cranberry bioactives and Canomiks applied its technology to test and validate the efficacy of these components. The test found that the cranberry’s support of heart health and overall blood pressure maintenance pathways align with previous clinical trial results.

“This is an exciting initiative from our Emerging Science team intended to accelerate discovery research and study the benefits of bioactive compounds in the cranberries, supporting our belief that food is medicine and consuming a diet rich in plant bioactives, such as those found in cranberries, can help support health including benefitting heart health,” said Katy Galle, Senior Vice President of Research and Development at Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.

“The area of food as medicine has been explored for many years and this research is principal in taking a step forward to making it a reality and inform future innovation from Ocean Spray,” added Dr Leena Pradhan-Nabzdyk, CEO and co-founder of Canomiks. 

Cranberries already have a reputation for providing health benefits, particularly for their ability to support urinary tract health.

Ocean Spray says this research supports its belief that “food is medicine and consuming a diet rich in plant bioactives such as those found in cranberries can aid in supporting overall health and, specifically, heart health”.