Tart cherry juice and bone breakdown in older women
What it found
In 27 women aged 65 to 80, drinking tart cherry juice twice a day for 90 days lowered a marker of bone breakdown compared with the start of the study.
The same did not happen with one serving a day.
What they found
Studies in people
Bone breakdown marker
The marker of bone breakdown, tartrate resistant acid phosphatase type 5b, fell significantly from the start in the group drinking juice twice a day. It did not change in the group drinking it once a day.
Bone formation markers
Two markers of bone formation and turnover, bone-specific alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin, did not change with either dose over the 90 days.
Inflammation and oxidative stress
The markers high sensitivity C-reactive protein and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances did not change with either dose.
Osteoporosis risk and vitamin D
The drop in the bone breakdown marker with the twice-daily dose happened regardless of the women's bone density or vitamin D status at the start.
Animal and lab studies
Animal and lab background
Earlier animal studies found that tart cherry powder increased bone mineral density and improved bone structure in mice. Lab studies found that tart cherry polyphenols reduced the number and activity of bone-breaking cells.
What the authors conclude
“We conclude that short-term supplementation with the higher dose of tart cherry juice decreased bone resorption from baseline without altering bone formation and turnover biomarkers in this cohort.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that short-term supplementation with the higher dose of tart cherry juice decreased bone resorption from baseline without altering bone formation and turnover biomarkers in this group of women.
- They say future studies with the higher dose of tart cherry juice in a placebo-controlled trial should be performed.
- They note that the findings can inform the planning of future long-term clinical studies but highlight the need to consider the skeletal response to the whole fruit.
How it was done
The authors wanted to see whether the bone-protective effects seen in animal studies with tart cherry would also show up in people. They also wanted to test whether the juice would affect markers of inflammation and oxidative stress.
They randomly assigned 27 healthy women aged 65 to 80 to drink about 240 mL of Montmorency tart cherry juice either once or twice a day for 90 days. Blood markers of bone formation, bone breakdown, vitamin D, inflammation and oxidative stress were measured at the start and end.
What it can’t tell you
- This was a small pilot study of 27 women, so the results may not apply to all older women.
- The study was not designed to last long enough to show changes in bone density.
- It did not compare the juice against a placebo, so the authors cannot rule out other reasons for the change.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by Cherry Research Committee, Cherry Marketing Institute (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.
- Authors work at
- Oklahoma State University, USA
The paper
- Title
- U.S. Montmorency Tart Cherry Juice Decreases Bone Resorption in Women Aged 65-80 Years
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Dodier T, Anderson KL, Bothwell J, Hermann J, Lucas EA, Smith BJ (2021). U.S. Montmorency Tart Cherry Juice Decreases Bone Resorption in Women Aged 65-80 Years. Nutrients. doi:10.3390/nu13020544Free full textPubMed 33562341DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error