Tart Cherry

Prunus cerasus · Montmorency cherry · Tart cherry juice · Sour cherry

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Exercise recovery¹ Muscle soreness¹ Endurance performance^2–6 Insomnia in older adults⁷ Systolic blood pressure⁸ Gout adjunct⁹	Pregnancy or nursing¹⁰ Under 18 years¹⁰

Tart cherry (Prunus cerasus, commonly the Montmorency cultivar) is a sour cherry taken as juice, concentrate, powder, or extract for its anthocyanin-rich pigment content, which acts through antioxidant and anti-inflammatory pathways. Athletes use it for recovery from strenuous exercise. Older adults with insomnia use it for sleep. It is also taken for cardiometabolic markers and as an adjunct in gout.

Recovery evidence is the most developed: a meta-analysis found small to moderate benefits for soreness and for recovery of strength and power. Trials in professional rugby league players and in recreational cyclists found no benefit. Sleep findings are modest: a pilot crossover trial in older adults with insomnia found less time awake after sleep onset⁷, while a trial in people with overweight or obesity found no effect on sleep or inflammation¹¹. In older adults, a 2024 network meta-analysis of randomized trials ranked tart cherry juice above placebo for systolic blood pressure. Its effect was smaller than the pooled placebo effect, and most included studies raised risk-of-bias concerns¹². Products list tart cherry mostly as capsules, with juice and concentrate also used; see Form comparison.

Juice delivers sugar: a 12-week trial in older adults found higher glucose and triglycerides alongside lower cholesterol⁸. Some product labels in the United States warn against use in pregnancy or nursing¹⁰.

Last updated October 16, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

85 sources, 65 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources