WHO monographs on selected medicinal plants - travolekar.ru

<strong>WHO</strong> <strong>monographs</strong> on selected medicinal plants
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial assessed the effects
of capsules containing concentrated cranberry (400.0 mg of cranberry
solids) in 19 women with a history of recurring UTI (20). Half of
the women were given two capsules of a dried extract of the crude drug
daily for 3 months followed by 3 months of treatment with a placebo. The
other group received a placebo for the first 3 months then the active treatment
for a further 3 months. However nine subjects dropped out due to
pregnancy or unrelated infections, or were lost to follow-up. Treatment
with cranberry capsules significantly reduced the occurrence of UTIs
(p < 0.005). On average, 2.4 UTIs per year were recorded in the cranberry-treated
group and 6.0 UTIs per year occurred in the placebo-treated
group. Treatment was well tolerated and no side-effects were reported.
A pilot study of 15 patients who had spinal cord injuries was performed
to determine whether alteration of fluid intake and use of cranberry
juice altered the bacterial biofilm load in the bladder. Urine samples
were collected on day 0 (start of study), on day 7 – after each patient had
drunk one glass of water three times during the day in addition to the
normal diet, and on day 15 – after each patient had drunk one glass of
cranberry juice three times during the day. The results showed that cranberry
juice intake significantly reduced the biofilm load compared to
baseline (p = 0.013). This was due to a reduction in adhesion of Gramnegative
(p = 0.054) and Gram-positive (p = 0.022) bacteria to cells. Water
intake did not significantly reduce the bacterial adhesion or biofilm presence
(16).
A randomized, placebo-controlled trial assessed the efficacy of 30 ml
of pure cranberry juice for reducing the bacterial concentrations in the
urine of elderly subjects with a mean age of 81 years (10). Thirty-eight
volunteers were treated with 30 ml of cranberry juice mixed with water or
with water alone for 4 weeks, followed by cross-over for a further 4 weeks.
Statistically significant results were reported; cranberry treatment decreased
the frequency of bacteriuria (p = 0.004). However, 21 patients
dropped out before the end of the trial, leaving only 17 patients in the final
evaluation. No side-effects were reported (10).
In an uncontrolled study involving 60 subjects with symptoms of acute
UTI such as frequency, dysuria, urgency and nocturia, the effects of cranberry
on the numbers of bacteria in the urine was assessed (15). Patients
were treated with 16 ounces of cranberry juice daily for 21 days. After
3 weeks, a positive clinical response (no urogenital complaints and fewer
than 100 000 bacteria per ml of urine) was noted in 32 patients (53%). Another
12 patients (20%) were “moderately improved” and 16 patients (27%)
showed no bacteriological improvement or symptomatic relief (15).
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