Planta Med 2012; 78 - OP22
DOI: 10.1055/s-0032-1307500

Determination of Anthocyanin Metabolites in Biological Fluids Post-Consumption of Cranberry Juice Cocktail

PN Brown 1, L Stothers 2
  • 1Centre for Applied Research & Innovation, BC Institute of Technology, 3700 Willingdon Avenue, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5G 3H2 Canada
  • 2Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Bladder Care Centre, UBC Hospital Unit 1B – Room F329, 221 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada

Cranberry, Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton, has long been used for preventing and treating urinary tract infections (UTIs) [1–2]. As part of a randomized clinical trial investigating the dose response to cranberry juice in women with recurrent UTI, a method for determining anthocyanins in urine was developed and the stability of these compounds in urine evaluated. Through validation it was determined the method was suitable for quantifying peonidin-3-O-galactoside (P3Ga), cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3Gl) and cyanidin-3-O-arabinoside (C3Ar) excreted in human urine post consumption of cranberry juice. This method was then employed to monitor the anthocyanin metabolites excreted in the urine of nine subjects at four time points post consumption of cranberry juice cocktail. The Cmax of anthocyanins in urine was determined to occur at 1.5 to 2.5 hours post consumption of the juice, with inter-individual P3Ga concentrations ranging from 0.31 to 4.43ng/ml at this time. At 4 to 6 and 8 to12 hours post juice, inter-individual excretion of P3Ga ranged from concentrations below the LOQ to 1.92ng/ml and <LOD to 0.65ng/ml respectively. The maximum concentrations of P3Ga, C3Gl and C3Ar in urine occurred between 1.5 and 2.5 hours post consumption of research grade cranberry juice and persisted in the urine of some subjects for up to 12 hours. In addition to determining the time course at which anthocyanins are excreted post-consumption of cranberry juice cocktail, this study provided information on the effects of diet, individual variation and stability that were key to ensuring success in therapeutic monitoring throughout a randomized clinical trial. Acknowledgements: Support for this research from the US National Institutes of Health National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (5R01AT002090–03) is gratefully acknowledged. References: [1] Howell AB (2007) Mol Nutr Food Res 51: 732–737. [2] Jepson RG, Craig JC (2008) Cochrane Database Syst Rev 23: CD001321. [3] Klein MA (2010) Cranberry in. Coates PM, Betz JM, et al. editors. Encyclopedia of dietary supplements. New York: Marcel Dekkar Inc., 193–20.