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Boil them, mash them, simmer them in a sauce. Whether they're sweetening a salad, garnishing a cocktail or brightening up home decor, cranberries are an iconic ingredient in holiday festivities. UIC College of Dentistry researcher Christine Wu found another reason to add these tart treats to your grocery cart: oral health.

Medicinally speaking, cranberry juice is often used to ward off urinary tract infections. That's because the crimson berries contain anti-inflammatory compounds called proanthocyanidins that unstick bacteria, like E. coli, from cells.

Wu wanted to see how the proanthocyanidins in cranberries affect dental plaque bacteria, which use sugars to produce acids that cause enamel decay. Since people don't typically snack on chemical compounds, she presented them as a more palatable refreshment: pure cranberry juice.

"Just like sugar damage is linked to diet, I'm interested in how the food and beverages we consume can help combat the harmful bacteria and benefit our oral health," Wu said.

In her study, 14 children and eight adults were randomly assigned to drink either unsweetened pure 100% cranberry juice, a cranberry juice cocktail containing 27% juice with added sugar or water.

"It was important to us to conduct these tests with human participants and use products available on the market. Most cranberry juice studies have been conducted using laboratory-prepared cranberry juice extract. Moreover, limited studies have been performed in children," said Wu, who is a professor of pediatric dentistry.

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