Montmorency Tart Cherry Juice Improves Symptom Severity in Individuals with Ulcerative Colitis

by | Apr 16, 2025 | 2025, Digestive Health, Fruits and Vegetables, Recent Articles

Written by Chrystal Moulton, Science Writer. Montmorency tart cherry group also had significantly lower symptom severity based on the SCCAI compared to placebo (P=0.004).

stomach painUlcerative colitis [UC] is an inflammatory bowel disease that is marked by alternating flare-ups and remissions1. Management of ulcerative colitis [UC] is estimated to cost $3500 per patient each year, most of which is spent on medication2. Even more, pharmaceutical drugs that support ulcerative colitis [UC] care are some of the most expensive in the US3. Thus, the need for alternative treatments to manage symptoms of UC is essential. Studies in both animals and humans demonstrate that anthocyanin rich foods could attenuate symptoms of UC4-6. Montmorency tart cherries are high in anthocyanin and has some promising outcomes for amelioration of inflammation in the bowels7-9. In the current trial, researchers investigated the effect of Montmorency tart cherry supplementation on quality of life and inflammatory biomarkers in individuals diagnosed with UC10.

The trial was a 6-week parallel group, double blind, placebo-controlled study. Eligible participants between 18-65years old who were diagnosed with UC within the past 6months were considered for this study. At enrollment, disease activity had to be mild to moderate and participants had to be using medication consistently for at least 3months prior. Qualified volunteers were randomly assigned to receive either Montmorency tart cherry juice concentrate or placebo (maltodextrin colored to resemble the treatment). Participants were required to take 30mL of the assigned protocol diluted in 100mL of water twice daily for 6weeks. Volunteers were not allowed to consume any multivitamin or antioxidant supplements during the trial. Regular physical activity and routines were maintained as well as a 4-day diet diary both before baseline and during the trial. Compliance was calculated upon return of any unused supplementation after 6 weeks. Five different questionnaires were used at baseline and week 6 to measure quality of life and symptoms severity during the course of the trial. The questionnaires were:

  • IBDQ – The IBD quality of life questionnaire using a 7-point Likert scale to measure bowel symptoms, systemic symptoms, social functioning, and emotional health. Higher scores indicated better quality of life.
  • IBD Fatigue Scale – evaluates the fatigue of individuals with IBD. Higher scores indicated greater fatigue.
  • SCCAI – The Simple Clinical Colitis Activity Index measures symptom severity with high scores indicating severe symptoms.
  • HADS – The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale measures anxiety and depression. High scores indicate increased depression or anxiety.
  • IPAQ-SF – The International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form evaluates physical activity and is used to calculate weekly energy expenditure.

Blood samples and fecal matter were also collected at baseline and week 6. Researchers assessed calprotectin levels in fecal matter as it serves as a biomarker for intestinal inflammation. The primary outcome was changes in quality of life based on the IBDQ. All other outcomes were secondary.

A total of 37 participants [treatment= 19, placebo= 18] were enrolled and 35 [treatment= 18, placebo= 17] successfully completed the trial (1 participant from each group dropped out due to flare-ups). Also, 27 participants completed the blood sampling and 26 completed the fecal sample collection at baseline and week 6. Compliance was high (>95%) and non-significant between both groups. Only daily sugar consumption was statistically higher in the intervention group compared to placebo (p=0.027) by week 6. No additional differences were observed in dietary outcomes. Researchers observed statistically higher scores in total quality of life (P=0.008), bowel symptoms (P=0.017), and emotional health (P=0.008) in the IBDQ questionnaire among participants given the treatment versus the placebo. Participants in the Montmorency tart cherry group also had significantly lower symptom severity based on the SCCAI compared to placebo (P=0.004). Researchers also observed significantly lower fecal calprotectin in participants within the Montmorency tart cherry group compared to placebo (P=0.044). No significant differences were observed in blood biomarkers of inflammation.

Overall, results from this study suggest that Montmorency tart cherry could significantly improve symptom severity and quality of life for individuals suffering from UC. Additional studies will be needed to verify these results.

Source: Sinclair, Jonathan, Graham McLaughlin, Robert Allan, Johanne Brooks-Warburton, Charlotte Lawson, Shan Goh, Terun Desai, and Lindsay Bottoms. “Health benefits of Montmorency tart cherry juice supplementation in adults with mild to moderate Ulcerative Colitis; A placebo randomized controlled trial.” Life (2025).

© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/4.0/).

Click here to read the full text study.

Posted April 16, 2025.

Chrystal Moulton BA, PMP, is a 2008 graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago. She graduated with a bachelor’s in psychology with a focus on premedical studies and is a licensed project manager. She currently resides in Indianapolis, IN.

References:

  1. Gajendran, Mahesh, et al. “A comprehensive review and update on ulcerative colitis.” Disease-a-month12 (2019): 100851.
  2. Bernstein, Charles N., et al. “Direct medical cost of managing IBD patients: a Canadian population-based study.” Inflammatory bowel diseases8 (2012): 1498-1508.
  3. Park, Sang Hyoung, et al. “A 30-year trend analysis in the epidemiology of inflammatory bowel disease in the Songpa-Kangdong District of Seoul, Korea in 1986–2015.” Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis11 (2019): 1410-1417.
  4. Biedermann, Luc, et al. “Bilberry ingestion improves disease activity in mild to moderate ulcerative colitis—An open pilot study.” Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis4 (2013): 271-279.
  5. Roth, Sofia, et al. “Bilberry-derived anthocyanins modulate cytokine expression in the intestine of patients with ulcerative colitis.” PLoS One5 (2016): e0154817.
  6. Piberger, Heidi, et al. “Bilberries and their anthocyanins ameliorate experimental colitis.” Molecular nutrition & food research11 (2011): 1724-1729.
  7. Nemzer, Boris, et al. “Phytochemical and physical properties of blueberries, tart cherries, strawberries, and cranberries as affected by different drying methods.” Food Chemistry262 (2018): 242-250.
  8. Mayta-Apaza, Alba C., et al. “Impact of tart cherries polyphenols on the human gut microbiota and phenolic metabolites in vitro and in vivo.” The Journal of nutritional biochemistry59 (2018): 160-172.
  9. Delday, Margaret, et al. “Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron ameliorates colon inflammation in preclinical models of Crohn’s disease.” Inflammatory bowel diseases1 (2019): 85-96.
  10. Sinclair, Jonathan, et al. “Health Benefits of Montmorency Tart Cherry Juice Supplementation in Adults with Mild to Moderate Ulcerative Colitis: A Protocol for a Placebo Randomized Controlled Trial.” Methods and Protocols5 (2023): 76.