Tart cherries are only "sour" in comparison to sugary sweet bing cherries. The top tart cherry species in the US is the Montmorency, but recently, Dr. Amy Iezzoni of Michigan State University discovered another variety, called the Balaton, named for Hungary's largest lake. Balaton cherries are sweeter, larger and firmer that the Montmorency. Its juice is more highly colored, making it great for preserves. For centuries, the cherry, either as bark, root or fruit, has been a source of medicine for indigenous peoples. Native Americans prized cherries as pain relievers, especially for sore throats. The Cherokees used an infusion of sour cherry bark to treat laryngitis. The Ojibwa used the crushed root for stomach pain. The Forest Potawatomi employed an infusion of the inner bark to alleviate internal pains while the MicMac used black cherry fruit as a health tonic. (I suspect that the cherry flavoring of most cough medicines is a faint memory of this ancient Native American usage.) In 1999, Michigan State University scientists discovered that cherries' dark coloring material is an outstanding source of antioxidants known as anthocyanins. This makes them similar to the food supplement Pycnogenol (derived from maritime pine bark). In fact, the antioxidant activity of tart black cherries is greater than of vitamin E, the benchmark antioxidant. Dark-colored Balaton cherries are particularly rich, with a total of 37.5 mg of anthocyanins in every 100 grams of fruit. Second, cherries contain pain-relieving compounds. Most of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin, ibuprofen, Vioxx, and Celebrex work by inhibiting cyclooxygenase I and II, popularly known as cox 1 and cox 2. Cherries also deliver a dose of cox inhibitors comparable to, say, Advil. Cox inhibitors are also being investigated for anticancer activity. Finally, cherries contain surprisingly high levels of melatonin, a hormone previously thought to be produced only by the pineal gland in the brain. Melatonin is part of the body's natural way of regulating sleep. It also may have anticancer properties. "Consuming cherries could be an important source of dietary melatonin," said Texas scientists recently. For reasons such as these, last year, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) gave a grant to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore to study the use of sour cherries in alleviating the pain of cancer. How many cherries do you need to provide these benefits? "Cherries can prevent and treat many kinds of pain," said Muraleedharan Nair, the lead researcher of the Michigan State University project. "Twenty cherries provide 25 milligrams of anthocyanins, which help to shut down the enzymes that cause tissue inflammation in the first place." Thanks to Ralph Moss's CancerDecisions.com Newsletter #13 (December 3, 2001) (Sign up for a free newsletter at their site). "Please visit us at www.cancerdecisions.com for lots of useful information and free back issues of this weekly newsletter. You can also order your report there or from our coordinator Diane Galbo. Our business address is now PO Box 8183, State College, PA 16803. Our new phone number is 814-238-3369. Our toll-free number remains 800-980-1234." J Nutr, 6/03 Experimental Biology, May, 2007 Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.