Black Cherry Extract Health Benefits
DISCLAIMER: This article has been written for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Black Cherry Extract, or Prunus Serotina, is known for its active components such as vitamins, tocopherols, carbs, fibers, polyphenols, terpenes, and glycosides. Traditional uses for Black Cherry include relieving gout pain, fighting inflammation, and supporting cardiovascular health.
Gout Pain
In Western Medicine, one of the most common uses for Black Cherry is for minor to moderate symptoms of gout. Gout occurs when there are excessive levels of uric acid around joints, typically around the toes. It affects approximately 4% of the population in North America; and is characterized as sudden flares of pain, swelling, redness, and tenderness that come and go. Whether consumed in raw fruit or encapsulated form, recent studies suggest Black Cherries are an effective solution to arthritic pain relief with anthocyanins. Anthocyanins, a flavonoid responsible for the red, purple, and blue pigments in the plant kingdom, have well-documented health benefits and one of which includes the innate ability to block uric acid levels from the development stage and reduce symptoms of gout.
Antioxidant Activity
Inflammation, a phenomenon that occurs when the body detects an intruder, affects arthritic and non-arthritic patients alike. Although inflammation comes in various levels of severity, antioxidants are known to reduce the adverse effects it can cause. There are more than 300 known antioxidants in today’s medicine, and anthocyanins are one of them. Therefore, Black Cherry does not only reduce the risk of gout, but it also protects vital organs against oxidative damage and free radicals.
Support Heart function
Medical research studies reported that the potent component of Black Cherry Extract improves heart function and reduces the risk of various cardiovascular conditions. Black Cherry does not only feature high levels of antioxidants, but it also has phenolic compounds. Phenolic compounds are chemicals that play a significant role in preventing the risk of multiple chronic diseases due to their properties. They exhibit extremely high antioxidant properties that can provide the body with strengthened and sophisticated defense responses from diabetes to cancer and other cardiovascular diseases. But that is only scratching the surface as far as the benefits of phenolic compounds go.
Foods that can enhance the effectiveness of Black Cherry
- Almonds
- Lemons
- Oatmeal
- Poultry
- Yogurt
- Coconut
References:
https://sci-hub.se/10.1016/j.foodchem.2010.07.040
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7399899/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6270007/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28137607/
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/prunus-serotina/
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10408398.2015.1030064
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gout/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20372903