Roll Call

“Mannose?”Here!D-mannose

Plant

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As a supplement

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

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A simple sugar related to glucose, found naturally in small amounts in fruits such as cranberries and apples. As a supplement it is typically sold as D-mannose powder.

Why it’s used

Taken by some to support urinary tract comfort, based on the idea that it can interfere with certain bacteria's ability to stick to the bladder wall.

What the evidence is for

urinary tract infection prevention.

What the evidence says

A Cochrane review of seven randomized trials (719 adults with acute or recurrent UTIs) found that D-mannose, alone or combined with other supplements, had uncertain effects on symptomatic and bacteriuria-confirmed UTIs compared to no treatment or antibiotics. The authors rated the evidence as very low certainty due to high risk of bias and sparse data, and no two studies used comparable doses or treatments, preventing meta-analysis. The review concludes there is little to no evidence to support or refute D-mannose for UTI prevention or treatment in any population.

Context

Trials reviewed used varying daily amounts and durations, and the review authors specifically flagged inconsistent study quality as a barrier to drawing firm conclusions.

Rumors

  1. Urinary tract infection prevention.

    The source we cited doesn't answer this one.

    What was measured is not yet noted.