The effects of long-term whole cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) consumption on markers of metabolic syndrome in the cholesterol challenged JCR:LA-cp corpulant rat model

A novel approach to battling metabolic syndrome involves the use of foods to modulate the underlying molecular processes that contribute to disease on-set and progression. The American Cranberry fruit (Vaccinium macrocarpon ) has high concentrations of compounds thought to possess anti-oxidant and other health promoting properties. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of whole cranberry, incorporated as 3% of dietary intake, on various parameters of metabolic syndrome using the obese JCR: LA-cp rat model. After two weeks acclimatization to purified diet, forty animals were divided into four diet groups: control (CON), 1% added cholesterol (CHOL), 3% added cranberry (CRAN), and cranberry plus cholesterol (CRAN + CHOL). Animals were maintained on the diet for a period of twelve weeks at the end of which time blood and tissues were collected and analyzed. Results demonstrate that cranberry-feeding improved several markers of metabolic syndrome, and these improvements were mostly related to hepatic activities. To highlight, plasma low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels were lower, and the ratio of high density to low density lipoprotein ratio (HDL/LDL) was higher in cranberry-fed animals. Also, when fed in conjunction with cholesterol, cranberry prevented the significant induction of plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) observed in CHOL diet group. Furthermore, hepatic tissue analysis revealed that cranberry consumption conferred protection against oxidative insults, as cranberry-fed animals had significantly higher ratio of reduced to oxidized glutathione and significantly lower glutathione peroxidase activity. Plasma markers of inflammation and insulin resistance were not affected by cranberry treatment. In conclusion, dietary cranberry, incorporated at physiologically relevant concentrations, has both cardio- and hepato-protective properties and could be incorporated into a viable cardio-protective protocol.