Most Recent in Series of Laboratory
Guidance Documents Evaluates Methods to Authenticate Cranberry Products
Cranberry dietary supplements are widely used for the
prevention and adjuvant treatment of recurrent urinary tract infections. There
are important differences in the composition of the various cranberry
supplements on the market. This is particularly true with regard to the content
of proanthocyanidins (PACs), which are considered the main cranberry compounds
responsible for preventing bacterial adhesion in the urinary tract, where
concentrations generally range from 0.8%–24%. The availability of lower-cost
PACs from other plant sources, such as peanut (Arachis
hypogaea, Fabaceae) skin or grape (Vitis
vinifera, Vitaceae) seed, has led some unscrupulous suppliers to
dilute or replace cranberry PACs — without labeling such dilution or
replacement — for financial gain.1 Other known adulterants of
cranberry include anthocyanin-rich extracts from other lower-cost plants, which
are used to mimic the red color found in authentic cranberry extracts.
The cranberry products Laboratory Guidance Document
provides a review of the chemical composition of cranberry fruit and the
adulterating species, and details the evaluation of 28 analytical methods to authenticate
cranberry juice, and cranberry fruit extracts. The LGD has been peer-reviewed
by 20 international experts from academia, government agencies, third-party
contract analytical laboratories, and the herbal industry.
Reference
- Brendler T, Gafner S.
Adulteration of cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon).
Botanical Adulterants Prevention Bulletin. Austin,
TX: ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program. 2017;1-8.
