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At a Glance
- Uric acid Tart cherry can lower blood uric acid for a few hours, but in people with gout, 4 weeks of concentrate didn’t lower it at any dose.
- Gout flares People who ate cherries had fewer flares in a large observational study, but no controlled trial has shown tart cherry itself prevents flares.
- Medication Tart cherry doesn’t replace allopurinol or febuxostat. In one trial it added nothing to uric acid control on febuxostat.
- Best use An optional add-on, discussed with your doctor, alongside urate-lowering treatment.
- Best capsule for most people Zazzee USDA Organic Tart Cherry – 300 mg of organic 10:1 extract in one capsule.
The Short Answer: Tart cherry isn’t a reliable way to lower uric acid. In the best trial in people with gout, tart cherry concentrate taken twice a day for 28 days didn’t change blood uric acid, uric acid in urine or the number of flares at any dose1. Single doses lowered uric acid for a few hours in some studies45, but not in others6.
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The more promising evidence is about flares. In 633 people with gout, eating cherries over 2 days was linked to a 35% lower risk of a flare2. That study was observational, so it can’t prove that cherries caused the drop.
For product picks, see our guides to the best uric acid supplements and the best tart cherry supplements, which checks 8 capsules and powders for extract dose and Montmorency sourcing.
Uric Acid vs. Flares: Two Different Questions
Gout happens when uric acid builds up and forms crystals in a joint. Lowering uric acid over the long term prevents new crystals, while calming inflammation may make flares less likely or less severe. Tart cherry has been studied for both, and the answers differ.
| Study | Who took part | What they took | How long | Uric acid result | Flares or inflammation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stamp 20201 | 50 people with gout (half on allopurinol) | 7.5–30 mL concentrate twice a day, or placebo | 28 days | No change at any dose | No change in flare frequency |
| Zhang 20122 | 633 people with gout (observational) | Fresh cherries or cherry extract, as they normally ate | 1 year of follow-up | Not measured | 35% lower flare risk after eating cherries over 2 days |
| Wang 20233 | 282 men starting febuxostat | Citrate mixture with tart cherry powder vs. citrate alone vs. sodium bicarbonate | 12 weeks | Fell the same in all groups | Lower CRP with tart cherry; flares no different from citrate alone |
| Bell 20144 | 12 healthy adults | 30 or 60 mL concentrate | 48 hours | 36% lower at 8 hours after a dose | hsCRP lower |
| Hillman 20215 | 48 healthy adults | Juice or 480 mg capsule, once or twice a day | 48 hours | Lower briefly, not maintained | No change in hsCRP |
| Nutrition and Health 20266 | 12 healthy adults | One 250 mL serving vs. water | 24 hours | No difference from water | No difference in CRP |
| Martin 20197 | 26 overweight or obese adults | 8 oz (240 mL) juice a day vs. placebo | 4 weeks | Reported 19% lower | hsCRP not significantly lower |
The only trial in people with gout that measured uric acid over weeks found no effect1. The positive uric acid results came from healthy or overweight adults, mostly over hours rather than weeks457.
Why Short-Term Drops Don’t Add Up
In healthy adults, a single 30 mL dose of concentrate lowered blood uric acid by 36% at 8 hours, and uric acid in urine peaked at 2 hours4. A 60 mL dose worked no better4.
Later studies were less positive. In 48 adults taking juice or capsules for 48 hours, uric acid fell only briefly and the drop wasn’t maintained5. A 2026 trial compared one serving of tart cherry juice with water and found no difference: uric acid fell over the day with both drinks, which suggests that some earlier “drops” may reflect normal daily swings6.
For gout, what matters is keeping uric acid low every day. The 2020 American College of Rheumatology guideline strongly recommends urate-lowering treatment adjusted to keep blood uric acid below 6 mg/dL8. A drop that lasts a few hours doesn’t do that.
Flares: What the Observational Data Say
The strongest evidence for cherries and gout comes from Zhang 2012. Researchers followed 633 people with gout online for a year and compared what they ate in the 2 days before a flare with other 2-day periods2. Eating cherries was linked to a 35% lower risk of a flare, and benefit leveled off at about 3 servings (half a cup, or 10–12 cherries, each) over 2 days2. Cherries combined with allopurinol were linked to a 75% lower risk than neither2.
A 2019 systematic review of 6 studies also found that cherry intake was associated with fewer gout attacks9. But the authors couldn’t pool the results because the studies were too few and too different9.
These findings are encouraging but not proof. In the one controlled trial that counted flares over 28 days, tart cherry concentrate didn’t change flare frequency1. In the febuxostat trial, the tart cherry mixture didn’t lower flares more than a citrate mixture without tart cherry3.
Our Top Tart Cherry Pick
Zazzee USDA Organic Tart Cherry
300 mg per capsule1 capsule a dayUSDA Organic
If you want to try tart cherry without the sugar in juice, this is the simplest option. Each capsule gives 300 mg of organic 10:1 extract with no sweeteners, and it ranked #1 (BFN Score 9.6) in our guide to the best tart cherry supplements. No capsule has been tested in people with gout, so treat it as an add-on to your gout treatment, not a replacement.
Tart Cherry With Allopurinol or Febuxostat
Tart cherry has been studied alongside both main gout medicines:
- Allopurinol: In Stamp 2020, half the participants took allopurinol. Taking it didn’t change the effect of tart cherry, which had no effect on uric acid either way1.
- Febuxostat: In Wang 2023, 282 men started febuxostat and took one of three mixtures. Uric acid fell by the same amount in all groups, and about 54–57% reached the target by 12 weeks3. The tart cherry group had lower CRP and a larger drop in protein in the urine, but that trial was open-label and only included men3.
No harmful interaction showed up in these trials. In Stamp 2020, only one side effect, high blood sugar, was possibly related to the concentrate1. Still, tell your doctor about any supplement you take with gout medicine.
The ACR guideline names allopurinol as the preferred first urate-lowering medicine8. Tart cherry isn’t a substitute.
Doses Used in Gout Studies
- Concentrate: 7.5 to 30 mL twice a day for 28 days, with no effect on uric acid at any dose1.
- Juice: 8 oz (240 mL) a day for 4 weeks in overweight adults7.
- Fresh cherries: up to 3 servings (about 30–36 cherries) over 2 days in the observational study2.
- Capsules: one 480 mg capsule a day lowered uric acid only briefly5. No capsule has been tested in people with gout.
For general dosing and timing, see how much tart cherry extract to take daily and the best time to take tart cherry.
Can Tart Cherry Help During a Flare?
We didn’t find any trial that tested tart cherry as a treatment for an active gout flare. Flares are treated with medicines such as NSAIDs, colchicine or steroids, as your doctor directs. The research on cherries is about lowering the risk of future flares, not stopping one that has started2.
Safety
Tart cherry juice is high in natural sugar, about 25 g per cup10. That matters because many people with gout also have diabetes or are overweight. In the 28-day gout trial, the one side effect possibly linked to tart cherry was high blood sugar1.
Our guide to tart cherry extract side effects covers who should be careful and why.
Final Verdict
Tart cherry isn’t a proven way to lower uric acid. In people with gout, a month of concentrate didn’t change uric acid or flares, and short-term drops seen in healthy adults faded within hours or didn’t beat water. Eating cherries was linked to fewer flares in a large observational study, but no controlled trial has confirmed that.
If you want to try tart cherry, use it as an add-on to the urate-lowering treatment your doctor recommends, not as a replacement. If you’d rather take a capsule than drink sugary juice, Zazzee USDA Organic Tart Cherry gives 300 mg of organic extract in one capsule. Compare other options in our guides to the best uric acid supplements and the best tart cherry supplements.
Important: This guide is for general information and isn’t medical advice. Gout needs medical care. Don’t stop or change gout medicine without talking to your doctor, and check with them before adding a supplement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does tart cherry juice lower uric acid?
Can tart cherry replace my gout medication?
Do cherries prevent gout flares?
Is tart cherry safe to take with allopurinol or febuxostat?
Can tart cherry help during an active gout flare?
There’s no evidence it does. Studies looked at lowering the risk of future flares, not treating a flare that has started2. Follow your doctor’s flare plan.
Are fresh cherries, juice or capsules better for gout?
Sources & History
References
- Lack of Effect of Tart Cherry Concentrate Dose on Serum Urate in People with Gout — Rheumatology, 2020
- Cherry Consumption and Decreased Risk of Recurrent Gout Attacks — Arthritis & Rheumatism, 2012
- Efficacy and Safety of Tart Cherry Supplementary Citrate Mixture on Gout Patients: A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Study — Arthritis Research & Therapy, 2023
- Montmorency Tart Cherry Concentrate Lowers Uric Acid, Independent of Plasma Cyanidin-3-O-glucosiderutinoside — Journal of Functional Foods, 2014
- Acute Ingestion of Montmorency Tart Cherry Reduces Serum Uric Acid but Has No Impact on High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein or Oxidative Capacity — Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, 2021
- Tart Cherry Juice Has No Acute Effects on Uric Acid, Vascular Function and Inflammation: A Randomised Crossover Trial — Nutrition and Health, 2026
- Consumption of 100% Tart Cherry Juice Reduces Serum Urate in Overweight and Obese Adults — Current Developments in Nutrition, 2019
- 2020 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for the Management of Gout — Arthritis Care & Research, 2020
- Effectiveness of Cherries in Reducing Uric Acid and Gout: A Systematic Review — Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2019
- Juice, Tart Cherry, from Concentrate, Shelf-Stable (FDC ID 2727589) — USDA FoodData Central
Update history
- Rewrote with a table of 7 tart cherry uric acid and gout studies; corrected the description of the 2020 dose trial (half of participants were on allopurinol, and no dose changed uric acid or flares) and the 2023 febuxostat trial (flares were no lower than with citrate alone); added the 2012 observational flare study, the 2026 trial comparing tart cherry with water, and the ACR 2020 treat-to-target guidance; removed claims we couldn’t verify. September 6, 2026 – Previous version.
