Cherries: what the tart cherry trials actually measured

Almost everything known about cherries was learned from a supplement. The trials on this page poured concentrated tart cherry juice, freeze-dried powder or capsules into people, and most of them never handed anybody a bowl of fruit. Read the numbers with that in mind. The clearest finding is about sore legs after hard training. Pooling 14 studies, tart cherry sped up the return of muscular strength with a moderate effect size of -0.78 and eased soreness with a small one of -0.44. Away from exercise, 10 randomised trials moved a single inflammation marker, C-reactive protein, down by 0.55 mg/L, while interleukin 6 and tumour necrosis factor alpha stayed where they were. The two reasons people usually reach for cherries did not show up. Thirty days of Montmorency juice or powder in 44 healthy adults changed neither sleep time nor sleep quality. Seven trials with 201 participants found no change in blood pressure. One more thing worth holding onto: the research is almost all about sour cherry, and much of what sits on the shelf is sweet cherry or cherries canned in syrup.

The numbers, per 100 g

What your body absorbs

• In 25 adults with mildly raised uric acid, tart cherry powder taken with a meal carrying 3 g of purines did not change the uric acid response either acutely or after a week. — 25 adults with fasting uric acid 5.8 +/- 1.3 mg/dL, randomised double-blind crossover (n = 25) Evidence B source
  No difference in uric acid levels or pharmacokinetic profile; blood glucose after the meal fell by 4.2% (95% CI -7.7 to -0.7, p = 0.017)

What it does to your health

• Pooling 14 studies, tart cherry supplements sped recovery of muscular strength after hard exercise with a moderate effect size of -0.78 and cut muscle soreness with a small effect size of -0.44. — adults recovering from strenuous exercise across 14 trials (n = 14 studies) Evidence A source
  Strength ES -0.78 (95% CI -1.11 to -0.46), soreness ES -0.44 (-0.87 to -0.02), jump height ES -0.82, CRP ES -0.46, no effect on creatine kinase or TNF-alpha
• Across 10 non-exercise randomised trials, tart cherry lowered C-reactive protein by 0.55 mg/L and left interleukin 6 and tumour necrosis factor alpha unchanged. — adults in 10 randomised trials outside an exercise setting (n = 10 studies) Evidence A source
  CRP WMD -0.55 mg/L (95% CI -1.03 to -0.06, p = 0.029), IL-6 WMD 0.08 pg/mL (p = 0.10), TNF-alpha no effect in 3 studies
• Seven randomised trials with 201 participants together show no significant change in systolic or diastolic blood pressure from eating tart or sweet cherries. — 201 participants in 7 randomised trials of tart and sweet cherries (n = 201) Evidence A source
  No significant decrease in systolic or diastolic blood pressure
• Four randomised trials with 392 participants show tart cherry lowers serum uric acid only modestly, by a standardised mean difference of 0.22. — 392 participants across 4 randomised trials and 8 comparisons (n = 392) Evidence A source
  Standardised mean difference -0.22 (95% CI -0.43 to -0.01), substantial heterogeneity
• In 44 healthy adults, 30 days of Montmorency tart cherry juice or powder changed neither sleep time nor sleep quality nor blood pressure. — 44 healthy adults, 2 bottles of 240 mL juice or 2 capsules daily for 30 days (n = 44) Evidence B source
  No significant difference in sleep time or quality between groups, blood pressure unaffected
• In 35 marathon runners, seven days of freeze-dried Vistula tart cherry powder left strength, jump height and soreness unchanged but held C-reactive protein at 7.9 against 12.5 mg/L on placebo. — 35 recreationally trained marathon runners aged 40 +/- 10 years, 7 days of supplementation around the race (n = 35) Evidence B source
  Hs-CRP during recovery 7.9 +/- 3.5 mg/L on tart cherry vs 12.5 +/- 5.1 on placebo (p = 0.031), no effect on MVC, jump, soreness or creatine kinase

Safety, limits and interactions

• A pooled survey of fresh and processed fruit put cherry among the highest for lead, alongside pineapple for arsenic and mango for cadmium, yet the non-carcinogenic risk stayed below the threshold of 1 even in infants. — fresh and processed fruit samples from international monitoring studies, risk modelled for consumers including infants Evidence C source
  Cherry highest for lead among the fruits compared; total target hazard quotient below 1 in infants

What people believe that the data does not support

• The EU register holds four claims for tart cherries and all four are non-authorised, including the claim that they help support a healthy heart. — EU labelling law, all consumers (n = 4 claims) Evidence E source
  0 authorised, 4 non-authorised for Prunus cerasus

The bottom line

On gout, the honest answer is a small one. Four trials with 392 people lowered serum uric acid by a standardised mean difference of 0.22, with substantial disagreement between the trials and an upper bound sitting right at the edge of no effect. That is a blood marker shifting a little. Nobody counted whether attacks became rarer. A separate trial found even less. In 25 adults with mildly raised uric acid, tart cherry powder taken with a meal carrying 3 g of purines left the uric acid response unchanged on the day and after a week of taking it. If you have gout, cherries are not the treatment, and whatever your doctor prescribed for it still is. Regulators have looked at the heart claim and refused it. The EU register holds four claims for sour cherry, including the one about helping support a healthy heart, and all four are non-authorised. That wording means the evidence put forward did not satisfy the assessment. It does not mean anyone showed the effect to be absent. One measurement deserves mention without alarm attached. In a pooled survey of fresh and processed fruit, cherry carried the most lead of the fruits compared, and the modelled risk still stayed under the safety threshold even for infants. Those are laboratory measurements of fruit, not health outcomes in people, and the amount depends on where the fruit grew. Now the gap, because it is large and you should hear it from us. We hold no evidence card on a safe upper amount, none on interactions with medication, and none on pregnancy, children or kidney disease. The one card standing in the safety section measures lead in fruit, and it answers none of those questions. That part of the page is thin because our sources are thin, and a thin section is not a clean bill of health. If you are considering a daily concentrate rather than the fruit, and especially if you take medication, that is a question for your pharmacist or your doctor.

Sources

1. chry-daily-r2-05 · randomised controlled trial
   No statistically significant interaction effects or differences between treatments were seen in uric acid levels or PK profiles. ... Acute and one-week TC supplementation did not affect the uricemic response to ingesting a high-purine meal in individuals with mildly elevated UA levels.
   Nutrients, 2024 · checked 2026-09-23
2. chry-daily-r2-01 · systematic review and meta-analysis
   A moderate beneficial effect was observed for recovery of muscular strength (ES = -0.78, 95% CI [-1.11, -0.46]). ... Tart cherry supplementation had a small beneficial effect in reducing muscle soreness (effect size [ES] = -0.44, 95% confidence interval [CI] [-0.87, -0.02]).
   Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab, 2021 · checked 2026-09-23
3. chry-daily-r2-02 · systematic review and meta-analysis
   The results demonstrated that TC had a significant decreasing effect on plasma CRP level compared with the comparison group (weighted mean differences (WMD) = -0.55 mg/L; 95% confidence interval (CI): - 1.03, - 0.06; p = 0.029), but had no significant effect on plasma IL-6 compared with comparison group (WMD = 0.08 pg/mL; 95% CI: -0.02, 0.17; p = 0.10).
   Complement Ther Med, 2022 · checked 2026-09-23
4. chry-daily-r2-03 · systematic review and meta-analysis
   Seven RCTs comprising 201 participants were included. The meta-analysis showed that cherry supplementation does not lead to a significant decrease in SBP or DBP.
   Diabetes Metab Syndr, 2022 · checked 2026-09-23
5. chry-daily-r2-04 · systematic review and meta-analysis
   Tart cherry intake was associated with a modest reduction in serum uric acid concentration compared with control (standardized mean difference -0.22; 95% confidence interval -0.43 to -0.01), with substantial heterogeneity.
   Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 2026 · checked 2026-09-23
6. chry-daily-r2-06 · randomised controlled trial
   There were no significant differences in sleep time or quality between groups, though both increased over 30 days. ... BP was unaffected by MTC supplementation over 30 days.
   Nutr Health, 2026 · checked 2026-09-23
7. chry-daily-r2-07 · randomised controlled trial
   However, there was a treatment effect for hs-CRP, where the TC group experienced lower levels of hs-CRP (mean ± SD during recovery: TC 7.9 ± 3.5, placebo 12.5 ± 5.1 mg/L, p = 0.031).
   Eur J Nutr, 2026 · checked 2026-09-23
8. chry-daily-r2-08 · contamination survey synthesis
   According to findings highest concentrations of As, Cd and Pb were observed in pineapple, mango, and cherry, while the lowest concentrations of these metals were found in berries, pineapple, and berries. ... Overall, the consumption of fresh and processed fruits is safe and does not pose a risk to the health of consumers.
   Biol Trace Elem Res, 2023 · checked 2026-09-23
9. chry-daily-r2-09 · regulatory decision
   POL-HC-6907 Cherries (Prunus cerasus), including Montmorency, Balaton or other sour/tart cherry varieties [Tart/sour] cherries help support a healthy heart Non-authorised
   EU Register on nutrition and health claims, claim POL-HC-6907, snapshot 2026-09-21 · checked 2026-09-23