It is well known that cranberries can help fight urinary tract infections and work has been carried out developing extracts. However, comparisons of an extract and cranberry juice found that cranberry juice was better at preventing and fighting infections than the extract.
The reasons for this are not yet fully understood but it does appear the story is more complicated than first thought. Proanthocyanidins is the component of cranberries which is believed to be responsible for the infection fighting properties.
The research, carried out by Terri Camesano, professor of chemical engineering at WPI and her team, has been accepted for publication by the journal Food Science and Biotechnology