In a systematic review, a group of researchers from the University of Oxford investigated the extent to which cranberry preparations can support the treatment of acute, uncomplicated urinary tract infections.
The research group drew on three studies with 688 patients from the USA, UK and India for their systematic review. The results showed that taking cranberry extract in capsule form (500 mg or 1,000 mg) in a randomized controlled trial reduced the E. coli load after 10 days and significantly alleviated the symptoms compared to the initial situation. This was not the case in the untreated control group. Cranberry juice – also administered as an adjuvant to antibiotics – had no significant effect on the course of acute urinary tract infections. The tolerability of the products was found to be good and no serious adverse events occurred. Nevertheless, the authors conclude that further high-quality studies are required in order to make a clear treatment recommendation.