Supplement · graded by use, two uses
Montmorency Tart Cherry
Sleep quality and duration.
Grade C: human trials exist, but they are small, mixed or not yet repeated. This is not a finding that it does not work. How to read a grade →
Tart cherry juice comes from the Montmorency cherry. Small, short studies found that people slept a bit longer or better. But the two larger, more recent studies found no change in sleep. Other small studies found that muscles recovered their strength a little faster after hard exercise. So both results are small and not settled.
The C belongs to one of the two uses graded on this record. The other one carries its own letter.
As studied, and the trials
Mixed. Positive results come from small, short trials: Howatson et al. (2012; PMID PubMed ID: the permanent number the US National Library of Medicine gives a published paper. Each one links to that paper's record on PubMed. 22038497), 20 adults, 7 days, actigraphy; Pigeon et al. (2010; PMID 20438325), 15 older adults, only wake after sleep onset beat placebo An inactive substitute made to look like the real treatment, so participants cannot tell which one they received.; Losso et al. (2018; PMID 28901958), 8 completers, polysomnography; Chung et al. (2022; PMID 36011907), 19 athletes, 48 hours. The two larger placebo-controlled trials since were null: Tucker et al. (2024; PMID 39683518), 34 adults, 500 mg powder, no effect on any sleep measure; Hillman et al. (2026; PMID 35790450), 44 adults, juice or capsules for 30 days. Actigraphic and polysomnographic outcomes are measured function, but no objective result has been replicated The same finding reproduced by a separate research group. A result seen once can be chance or bias; a replicated one is harder to explain away. and the recent trials are null: C.
As studied, and the trials
Mixed. Pooled analyses are positive on measured strength: Hill et al. (2021; PMID 33440334), 14 studies, moderate benefit on recovery of strength and power, co-authored by an investigator whose group ran several pooled trials; Daab et al. (2026; PMID 41945263), 19 trials in athletes, maximal voluntary contraction recovery improved with heterogeneity How much the results of the pooled trials differ from each other. High heterogeneity makes a combined estimate less reliable. of 69 to 93 percent and very low to moderate certainty, no pooled effect on soreness or creatine kinase. Independent trials in untrained men (Lamb et al., 2019; PMID 31337122), professional soccer players (Abbott et al., 2020; PMID 31188696) and professional rugby players (Morehen et al., 2021; PMID 32672095) found no effect. A positive pooled effect on a measured functional endpoint The outcome a trial measures to decide whether the treatment worked, such as heart attacks, blood pressure or a symptom score. could support B; inconsistent replication with several independent nulls and very low to moderate certainty is mixed evidence, C. The editor may weigh the pooled strength result as sufficient for B.
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A letter describes the human evidence, not the product, the manufacturer, or the ingredient's worth.
See the full evidence record →Prunus cerasus · Sleep · Endogenous Melatonin
Sleep quality and duration in small trials, the two larger recent trials null; recovery of muscle strength after exercise C.
As studied: dose, form, population and duration for every use
A grade describes the intervention that was tested. Where the product on the shelf differs from it, this says so.
How this letter has changed · latest: October 2026 · Changed
The record cited two positive sleep trials and said tart cherry raises endogenous melatonin; Howatson et al. (2012; PMID 22038497) attribute the rise to melatonin in the juice and Chung et al. (2022; PMID 36011907) found no change. Added: the two larger null trials (Tucker et al., 2024; PMID 39683518, 500 mg powder; Hillman et al., 2026; PMID 35790450, juice or capsules for 30 days) and the two small older positives (Losso et al., 2018; PMID 28901958; Pigeon et al., 2010; PMID 20438325). The dose line listed an extract dose no positive sleep trial used; it now states what was studied. Exercise recovery, claimed without a citation or a letter, now has its own row: pooled analyses positive on measured strength (Hill et al., 2021; PMID 33440334; Daab et al., 2026; PMID 41945263) against independent nulls (Lamb et al., 2019; PMID 31337122; Abbott et al., 2020; PMID 31188696; Morehen et al., 2021; PMID 32672095), mixed, C. The headline stays C. Applied the written grade definition under the editor's standing instruction of October 2026 (Arnold Sandlow, D.C.).PMID 20438325 PMID 22038497 PMID 28901958 PMID 31188696 PMID 31337122 PMID 32672095 PMID 33440334 PMID 35790450 PMID 36011907 PMID 39683518 PMID 41945263
Every change to a letter on this site is dated and published. The full evidence log →
Commercial disclosure
EBL earns no commission on any supplement it grades. A purchase made through the dispensary link below pays EBL nothing, the practitioner discount goes to you in full. The dispensary is Fullscript, a practitioner dispensary, and many of the professional-grade brands in it are sold mainly through practitioners rather than in health food stores. Grades are assigned by published rubric before any commercial relationship exists and are never influenced by one. Full disclosure.
The trial evidence used Montmorency tart cherry (Prunus cerasus), either as a standardized extract (~480 mg) or as juice concentrate, not sweet dessert cherries. Products vary widely in anthocyanin and melatonin content, and juice/concentrate forms carry meaningful sugar. The trials used the Montmorency cultivar, and the juice carries a sugar load.
As studied for sleep: 240 mL of Montmorency juice twice daily, or 30 mL of concentrate twice daily. A 500 mg powder capsule, close to the extract dose formerly listed here, was null for sleep in the one trial that tested it (Tucker 2024, PMID 39683518), and 240 mL twice daily was null over 30 days (Hillman 2026, PMID 35790450). For exercise recovery the trials gave 30 mL of concentrate or 240 to 355 mL of juice twice daily for several days around the exercise.
For sleep, take the evening dose 1–2 hours before bed, when its melatonin and sleep-supporting effect is most relevant. For recovery, split doses across the day around training.
In the cited exercise trial, 200 mL was taken in the morning and 200 mL in the evening (PMID 36011907). In the sleep trials the juice was taken morning and evening (PMID 22038497) or one hour before bed (PMID 39683518).
Checked against the full report for 1 of the 3 cited studies, and the published summary for the rest. What the cited trials did, not a schedule. Every supplement, by trial timing →
Juice and concentrate forms carry meaningful sugar and carbohydrate, which matters in diabetes. Otherwise well tolerated.
Sleep medication and sedatives: tart cherry contains melatonin, so additive sedation is plausible at concentrate doses. Anticoagulants: mild antiplatelet activity has been reported. Both are mechanistic cautions. Its uric-acid lowering effect is additive to gout treatment.
Mechanism-based, no human interaction study located. The drug interactions described for Montmorency Tart Cherry are mechanism-based. A PubMed search for human interaction, pharmacokinetic or co-administration studies pairing it with anticoagulant, antiplatelet, gout treatment, sedative returned no results in August 2026. The caution stands on pharmacology, not on a trial, and is labeled as such. Basis: pharmacological mechanism, not a human study. Searched PubMed in August 2026: 4 queries, 0 human results.
Sleep onset latency, total sleep time and sleep efficiency from a diary or wearable over a two to four week baseline and the same on treatment. For recovery, maximal strength on a dynamometer and perceived soreness at 24, 48 and 72 hours after the session.
Primary evidenceEleven papers, each linked to its PubMed record.
Sleep. Howatson et al. (Eur J Nutr, 2012; PMID 22038497): 20 healthy adults, 7-day crossover A trial design in which each participant receives both the treatment and the comparison, one after the other, and serves as their own control. of juice concentrate; urinary melatonin higher, actigraphic time in bed, total sleep time and sleep efficiency higher; the authors attribute the melatonin rise to melatonin in the juice. Chung et al. (Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2022; PMID 36011907): 19 elite female field hockey players over 48 hours after exhaustive exercise; actigraphic time in bed and wake after sleep onset improved, melatonin and cortisol unchanged. Losso et al. (Am J Ther, 2018; PMID 28901958): 8 completers over 50 with insomnia, polysomnographic sleep time 84 minutes longer; NIH-funded with industry co-funding reported by the review. Pigeon et al. (J Med Food, 2010; PMID 20438325): 15 older adults with insomnia, 2-week crossover; against placebo only wake after sleep onset improved, not latency, total sleep or efficiency. Tucker et al. (Nutrients, 2024; PMID 39683518): 34 adults with sleep complaints and overweight or obesity, 500 mg powder one hour before bed for 14 days, crossover; no effect on any objective or subjective sleep measure or inflammatory marker; funded by the tart cherry industry's marketing body. Hillman et al. (Nutr Health, 2026; PMID 35790450): 44 healthy adults, juice or capsules for 30 days; no difference in sleep time or quality, body composition or blood pressure. Exercise recovery. Hill et al. (Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab, 2021; PMID 33440334): meta-analysis A study that pools the numbers from several trials into one combined estimate. of 14 studies, small benefit on soreness, moderate on recovery of strength and power; co-authored by Howatson, whose group ran several pooled trials. Daab et al. (Sports Med Open, 2026; PMID 41945263): 19 trials in athletes, maximal voluntary contraction recovery improved at every time point with heterogeneity of 69 to 93 percent, no pooled effect on soreness, creatine kinase or most other markers, certainty very low to moderate. Null trials: Lamb et al. (Nutrients, 2019; PMID 31337122), 36 untrained men; Abbott et al. (Int J Sports Physiol Perform, 2020; PMID 31188696), 10 professional soccer players; Morehen et al. (Eur J Sport Sci, 2021; PMID 32672095), 11 professional rugby league players. Grade C for both uses: small or inconsistent randomized evidence.
Howatson et al. 2012 (PMID 22038497): RCT Randomized controlled trial: people are assigned to the treatment or a comparison by chance, so the groups differ only in what they received. It is the design that can show cause and effect., tart cherry concentrate raised urinary melatonin and improved sleep time and efficiency. Montmorency sleep RCT 2022 (PMID 36011907): short-term intake modestly improved sleep measures. Trials are small (n≈20) with modest effect sizes How large a difference the treatment made, as distinct from whether the difference could be detected at all..
The tart cherry sleep trials are small (n≈20), the effects are modest, and the endpoints are soft. Grade B requires a consistent, well-replicated signal with form and dose established. The published tart cherry literature has not cleared that bar. Grade C reflects small, positive, not-yet-robustly-replicated human evidence.
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These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The grade on this page describes the strength of published human trial evidence in the populations studied. It is not a recommendation for any individual and is not medical advice. Starting, stopping or changing any supplement or medication is a decision for your physician.
Who responds: this record's trial reading reports no subgroup that identifies who responds.
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How EBL searched for the trials (1 search)
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(tart cherry[tiab] OR Montmorency[tiab]) AND sleep[tiab] AND (randomized controlled trial[pt] OR randomized[tiab])Grades move when new trials publish. A free monthly email lists every grade EBL moved, with the reason and the trial behind it: the sign-up is on the Evidence Log →