Thirty Days of Montmorency Tart Cherry Supplementation Has No Effect on Gut Microbiome Composition, Inflammation, or Glycemic Control in Healthy Adults

Hillman AR, Chrismas BCR · Frontiers in Nutrition

No change in CRP, uric acid or erythrocyte sedimentation rate, none in glycated albumin or insulin, and no shift in bacterial phyla, families or species richness. TNF-alpha changed over time (p = 0.04, lower at day 30 than day 14) but not between groups (p = 0.08), so the one moving marker moved in the placebo and cherry arms alike; fasting glucose rose across the study in every arm (p < 0.001) with no group difference.

Population

Healthy adults with no known disease, mean age 28

Intervention

Montmorency tart cherry as concentrate or freeze-dried capsules, 30 days

Comparator

Matching placebos

Limitations

Healthy young adults with little to improve, a population in which a null is weak evidence of absence. 30 days, four arms of 14 to 15. Funded by the Cherry Marketing Institute. Registered NCT04467372.