Cranberry juice creates energy barrier that keeps bacteria away from
cells, study shows
For generations, people have consumed cranberry juice, convinced of
its power to ward off urinary tract infections, though the exact
mechanism of its action has not been well understood. A new study by
researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) reveals that the
juice changes the thermodynamic properties of bacteria in the urinary
tract, creating an energy barrier that prevents the microorganisms
from getting close enough to latch onto cells and initiate an
infection.

The study, published in the journal Colloids and Surfaces: B, was
conducted by Terri Camesano, associate professor of chemical
engineering at WPI, and a team of graduate students, including PhD
candidate Yatao Liu. They exposed two varieties of E. coli bacteria,
one with hair-like projections known as fimbriae and one without, to
different concentrations of cranberry juice. Fimbriae are present on a
number of virulent bacteria, including those that cause urinary tract
infections, and are believed to be used by bacteria to form strong
bonds with cells.

For the fimbriaed bacteria, they found that even at low
concentrations, cranberry juice altered two properties that serve as
indicators of the ability of bacteria to attach to cells. The first
factor is called Gibbs free energy of attachment, which is a measure
of the amount of energy that must be expended before a bacterium can
attach to a cell. Without cranberry juice, this value was a negative
number, indicating that energy would be released and attachment was
highly likely. With cranberry juice the number was positive and it
grew steadily as the concentration of juice increased, making
attachment to urinary tract cells increasingly unlikely.

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Surface free energy also rose, suggesting that the presence of
cranberry juice creates an energy barrier that repels the bacteria.
The researchers also placed the bacteria and urinary tract cells
together in solution. Without cranberry juice, the fimbriaed bacteria
attached readily to the cells. As increasing concentrations of
cranberry juice were added to the solution, fewer and fewer
attachments were observed.

Cranberry juice had no discernible effect on E. coli bacteria without
fimbriae, suggesting that compounds in the juice may act directly on
the molecular structure of the fimbriae themselves. This reinforces
previous work by the WPI team that showed that exposure to cranberry
juice alters the shape of the fimbriae, causing them to become
compressed. Using an atomic force microscope as a minute strain gauge,
the team also showed that the adhesive force exerted by bacteria on
urinary tract cells declined in direct proportion to the concentration
of cranberry juice in the solution.

"Our results show that, at least for urinary tract infections,
cranberry juice targets the right bacteria—those that cause disease—
but has no effect on non-pathogenic organisms, suggesting that
cranberry juice will not disrupt bacteria that are part of the normal
flora in the gut," Camesano says. "We have also shown that this effect
occurs at concentrations of cranberry juice that are comparable to
levels we would expect to find in the urinary tract."

Camesano notes that unpublished work has shown that while cranberry
juice has potent effects on disease-causing bacteria, those effects
are transitory. "When we takes E. coli. bacteria that have been
treated with cranberry juice and place them in normal growth media,
they regain the ability to adhere to urinary tract cells," she says.
"This suggests that to realize the antibacterial benefits of
cranberry, one must consume cranberry juice regularly—perhaps daily."

For those watching calories, Camesano says other recent work in her
lab has shown that the effects of regular cranberry juice cocktail and
diet (sugar-free) cranberry juice are identical. "That's good news for
people who do not like to consume a lot of sugary juice," she says.

Source: Worcester Polytechnic Institute

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