Fruit vinegar's compounds and health effects reviewed
What it found
Fruit vinegar contains acetic acid and plant compounds that may help with blood sugar, cholesterol, germs, and inflammation.
The evidence comes from animal studies, lab tests, and some human studies.
What they found
Studies in people
Blood sugar in people
Healthy people who took vinegar with 1 g of acetic acid alongside carbohydrate-rich meals had a smaller rise in blood sugar. Vinegar also reduced the insulin response by 20% and the blood sugar response by 30% after sucrose.
Animal and lab studies
Blood sugar in animals
In rats, apple vinegar given at 2 mL daily for five weeks reduced the risk of persistent high blood sugar caused by a high-calorie diet. Acetic acid is thought to act through a pathway that lowers blood sugar and improves insulin sensitivity.
Antimicrobial effects
Apple vinegar stopped the growth of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and a resistant E. coli strain in lab tests. It also showed antifungal activity against Candida albicans and promising results against Enterococcus faecalis when combined with an irrigation system.
Studies in people and animals
Cholesterol and fats
In mice fed a high-fat diet, synthetic acetic acid vinegar or nipa vinegar lowered total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, and leptin. In lab tests on 3T3-L1 cells, tomato vinegar cut triglyceride content by 45.71% and reduced fat accumulation.
Antioxidant effects
In animal studies, fruit vinegar increased antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase by 7 times and glutathione peroxidase by 4.81 times, and lowered TBARS levels in serum and liver by 61.20% and 43.83%. Pomegranate vinegar showed high antioxidant activity in lab tests.
Inflammation and cancer
Pear vinegar reduced inflammatory cytokines in an animal model. In mice, vinegar in the diet at 0.5% for 72 days shrank tumors and extended life span. In lab tests, sugar cane vinegar induced apoptosis in human leukemia cells.
What the authors conclude
“Vinegar is a healthy and wealthy product with multiple functional properties including antidiabetic, antihyperlipidemic, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory effects.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that vinegar is a healthy product with multiple functional properties including antidiabetic, antihyperlipidemic, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory effects.
- They state that the bioactive ingredients are present or newly generated during brewing and that the synergetic effect between different components provides several properties.
How it was done
The authors wanted to gather information on what fruit vinegar contains and what health benefits it may have, to support its use as a valuable product.
They searched scientific databases for articles on fruit vinegar, its beneficial properties, and its effects. They evaluated 203 articles and used 119 to prepare the review.
What it can’t tell you
- Many of the findings come from animal studies or lab tests, so they cannot show what happens in people.
- The human studies are small and do not prove that vinegar prevents or treats diseases.
- The review does not compare different types of vinegar or doses to know which is best.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflict of interest.
- Authors work at
- University Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, Morocco; University of Helsinki, Finland; University of Orleans, France
The paper
- Title
- Fruits Vinegar: Quality Characteristics, Phytochemistry, and Functionality
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new 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
- Ousaaid D, Mechchate H, Laaroussi H, et al (2021). Fruits Vinegar: Quality Characteristics, Phytochemistry, and Functionality. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland). doi:10.3390/molecules27010222Free full textPubMed 35011451DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error