Quebec, Canada— Fruit d’Or has announced that in a study conducted by Complete Phytochemical Solutions (CPS), a third-party consulting and contract research company, researchers have linked the structure of specific soluble cranberry proanthocyanidins (PAC) found in Fruit d’Or’s Cran Naturelle whole fruit cranberry powder with a mechanism of action and efficacy. Researchers used scanning electron microscopy to capture images of extra-intestinal pathogenicEscherichia coli(ExPEC) agglutinated in the presence of proanthocyanidins from Fruit d’Or’s Cran Naturelle. C-PAC reference material, developed by CPS, was used to authenticate and quantify the soluble and insoluble PAC from the whole fruit cranberry powder.

Figure 1: This slide shows a before and after representation of the E. Coli bacteria being wrapped up by the whole food cranberry powder, which is standardized for 7% total PACs, both soluble and insoluble. Journal of Functional Foods, August 2016.
Figure 1: This slide shows a before and after representation of the E. Coli bacteria being wrapped up by the whole food cranberry powder, which is standardized for 7% total PACs, both soluble and insoluble. Journal of Functional Foods, August 2016.


“These are the only industry-sponsored scanning electron microscopy images that we have captured to date. Images help visualize the structure-activity mechanism by which cranberry proanthocyan idins interact with ExPEC,” explains Christian Krueger, CEO of CPS. “The agglutination effect is primarily attributed to the interaction of adhesive organelles on the surface of the ExPEC with the cranberry proanthocyanidins. They represent a tight link between the soluble PAC present in Cran Naturelle and the biologic outcome.”

The C-PAC reference standard established in this research is important for future research. The standard and associated analytical methods are “fit for purpose” which means that they are scientifically validated and represent the most appropriate approach to authenticate and quantify the bioactive PAC of whole fruit cranberry. “C-PAC is your pillar. Without it, there is no accurate standardization. Lack of standardization leads to more fairy dust cranberry products at the retail level,” says Stephen Lukawski, director of sales and business development for Fruit d’Or. “How can you move forward to conduct a cranberry study or even repeat a study, if you don’t know what is in your starting cranberry powder or what reference standard you started with when doing your testing of biomarkers for standardization?” Standardization allows for more consistent and meaningful research.