Fiber, cranberry blend helps prevent bacteria from adhering to urinary tract in new study

Photo © iStockphoto.com/nsilcock

A soluble fiber and cranberry ingredient blend helped prevent pathogenic bacteria from adhering to the urinary tract in a new Rutgers University study. The ingredient, SunCran Naturelle, is a hybrid ingredient combining Taiyo International’s (Minneapolis) Sunfiber soluble guar fiber and Fruit d’Or’s (Villeroy, QC, Canada) Cran Naturelle cranberry juice powder. The purpose of the study, still awaiting publication, was to measure the bacterial anti-adhesion activity of the ingredient in human urine over a 24-hour time frame.

In the one-day study, 20 subjects comprising 10 men and 10 women between the ages of 25 and 60 with no urinary tract infections, diabetes, or antibiotic use for six months were given a 945-mg dose of SunCran Naturelle following a three-day wash-out period in which they refrained from eating high-flavonoid products such as blueberries, pomegranates, grapes, and chocolate. A background urine sample was collected prior to consuming the ingredient and then collected at intervals of 3, 6, 9, 12, and 24 hours into the study. 

Researchers then exposed the subjects’ urine samples to E. coli. Following an assay specific for uropathogenic Pfimbriated E. coli, conducted four times per sample, results showed that 85% of subject experienced some level of bacterial anti-adhesion compared to the background samples (the samples taken prior to consuming the ingredient) which demonstrated zero anti-adhesion activity. Urinary anti-adhesion activity during the 24-hour period for all subjects overall was 18%. However, SunCran Naturelle yielded different responses through the 24 hours with the most potent anti-adhesion activity at three and six hours, where it peaked at 37.5%. From there, anti-adhesion activity gradually declined. There was no significant difference between the two gender groups.

SunCran Naturelle’s anti-adhesion properties are ascribed to the high, standardized content of soluble proanthocyanidins (PACs) in Fruit d’Or’s Cran Naturelle cranberry juice powder. Taiyo’s Sunfiber acts as a complementary prebiotic that helps minimize harmful bacteria and stimulate the growth of friendly bacteria like Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria.

“With this research, we are providing holistic solutions targeting both urinary tract and gut health,” said Derek Timm, PhD, RDN, technical sales director for Taiyo in a press release. “Taiyo and Fruit d’Or have gone to extraordinary efforts to ensure traceability and purity, as well as to demonstrate the health benefits of our ingredients.”

“The good news is we do not have to use maltodextrin or magnesium hydroxide,” added Fruit d’Or global sales and marketing consultant Stephen Lukawski in a press release. “We can now deliver a cranberry juice powder that is green and clean and consumer friendly.”

SunCran Naturelle can be formulated into such products as bars, RTD beverages, capsules, and powders.