Potential health benefits of cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon) such as urinary tract health, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties, can be attributed to a wide variety of secondary metabolites, including proanthocyanidins (PACs), organic acids, flavonoids and triterpenoids. Commercial cranberry supplements provide an alternative to juices, sauces and sweetened, dried fruit without added sugar. As manufacturing processes for supplements differ substantially, the content of potential health-promoting compounds can be expected to vary widely. Nine commercial cranberry supplements were extracted and analyzed for content of secondary metabolites in comparison to a whole cranberry powder reference standard material, using a combination of 1H qNMR with Bruker Assure-RMS software, HPLC-DAD, and the DMAC assay for total PAC content with procyanidin A2 as a standard. Principal component analysis of the 1H NMR spectra showed overlap between several supplements and whole cranberry powder along PC1 and PC2, but other supplements varied widely from the fruit powder. Among the supplements tested, four had a total PAC content in the range of 5 - 10 mg PAC/g dry weight, one contained 100 mg PAC/g dry weight and the remainder showed no appreciable PACs. Organic acids and flavonoids also varied significantly; several supplements contained only minimal amounts of these metabolites. Two anti-inflammatory constituents of cranberry peel, ursolic acid (8.0-16.3 mg/g) and oleanolic acid (0.3-5.1 mg/g), were detected in the whole cranberry reference standard and in four and six of the nine supplements, respectively. Overall, the study results suggest significant variation in phytochemical composition among cranberry supplements, reinforcing the need for reliable industry standards.

Metabolomic analysis of commercial cranberry supplements

254th National Meeting (2017)

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