Efficacy and safety of tart cherry supplementary citrate mixture on gout patients: a prospective, randomized, controlled study

Wang C, Sun W, Dalbeth N, Wang Z, Wang X, Ji X, Xue X, Han L, Cui L, Li X, Liu Z, Ji A, He Y, Sun M, Li C · Arthritis Research & Therapy

On the two co-primary outcomes — urine pH and serum urate — the tart cherry mixture matched plain citrate and sodium bicarbonate, with no significant difference between groups. It did beat both on CRP at week 12 (p < 0.01) and on the urine albumin/creatinine ratio (p < 0.05), and both citrate-containing arms had fewer gout flares than bicarbonate (p < 0.05). Adverse events were comparable.

Population

Men with gout and fasting urine pH <= 6, starting febuxostat

Intervention

Tart cherry supplementary citrate (TaCCi) mixture for 12 weeks

Comparator

Citrate mixture, or sodium bicarbonate

Limitations

Open-label, men only, single country, and the tart cherry is bundled inside a citrate mixture — so the trial cannot separate the cherry from the citrate on any endpoint. Registered ChiCTR2100050749.