To the Editor: The consumption of cranberry juice has been recommendedfor the prevention of urinary tract infections, and a 1994 clinicalstudy1 provides scientific validation of this claim. The effectis due not to the highly acidic nature of cranberries but tospecific compounds in cranberries that inhibit the adherenceof Escherichia coli to uroepithelial cells.2,3
Bacterial adherence to mucosal surfaces, a prerequisite forthe development of most mammalian infections, is facilitatedby fimbriae, which are proteinaceous fibers on the bacterialcell wall. Fimbriae produce adhesins that attach to specificmonosaccharide or oligosaccharide receptors on uroepithelialcells.4 Cranberries contain . . . [Full Text of this Article]
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