Impact of Cranberry Juice Consumption on Gut and Vaginal Microbiota in Post-menopausal Women

This was a prospective exploratory pilot study with a dietary intervention. Twenty-three (23) women volunteered and participated in this study. The eligibility (no menstrual period for at least 12 months) of the participants was determined using a questionnaire. The participants were postmenopausal women between the ages of 50-75 years old who met the exclusion criteria including no recent antibiotics or immunosuppressive therapies, surgery of the stomach, small or large intestines, appendectomy, gastric bypass or gastric banding in the previous 6 months, and diagnostic with any autoimmune diseases.

This study was a randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover, pilot dietary intervention. Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc provided the experimental and placebo beverages, which have been validated and used in previous studies [26-29]. Both beverages were similar in appearance, taste, and aroma and assigned to volunteers according to computer-generated random orders. Both investigators and participants were blind to the assignment and products are identified by a random 3-digit code pre-printed on the cap. The participants consumed either cranberry juice or placebo beverage daily (8 fl oz per day) for 15 days