Tart cherry and performance
What 3 graded rows on tart cherry agree on for performance, and where they differ. Counted side by side, never averaged.
Consensus finder Rows from the Tart cherry page, reviewed Oct 21, 2026 How it decides
What the rows agree on
Each block and row is one graded row from the Tart cherry page, with its PubMed record.
Your question
Tart cherry and performance
3 rows · 699 peopleThey agree: all 3 rows found an improvement.
- CGrade C× 2
- DGrade D× 1
- Rows
- 3
- Trials
- 3
- At least: a review without a trial count
- People
- 699
- Pooled reviews may count some twice
What the rows share
From the rowsThe best-graded row, grade C, is a meta-analysis of 385 people (2026) and found an improvement.
The rows run from 20 to 385 people, published from 2010 to 2026: 2 pooled reviews and 1 single study.
The rows
3 improved- CGrade CRecovery of strength, jump height and inflammation after muscle-damaging exercise in athletes · Improved
Meta-analysis · n 385 · 2026 · Trained athletes in 19 trials of exercise-induced muscle damage
Mostly 30 mL concentrate twice daily; some trials used 236–355 mL servings of juice · Several days before to several days after the exercise bout
Recovery of maximal strength was better at every time point (ES 0.63 right after exercise up to 4.82 at 96 h), jump height improved at 48 h only (ES 1.41), and CRP was lower up to 48 h. No pooled effect on muscle soreness, CK, IL-6 or TNF-α.
Row on the Tart cherry page · PubMed 41945263 (opens PubMed)
- CGrade CRecovery of strength, power and soreness after strenuous exercise · Improved
Meta-analysis · n 294 · 2021 · Untrained to well-trained adults in 14 exercise-recovery studies
Varied across studies · Days before and after the exercise bout
Moderate benefit for recovery of muscle strength (ES −0.78) and power (ES −0.53), a small reduction in soreness (ES −0.44) and small drops in CRP and IL-6; no effect on creatine kinase or TNF-α.
Row on the Tart cherry page · PubMed 33440334 (opens PubMed)
- DGrade DRecovery after a marathon · Improved
RCT · n 20 · 2010 · Recreational marathon runners
Twice daily · 5 days before to 48 hours after the race
Isometric strength recovered faster than with placebo, with lower inflammation and oxidative-stress markers.
Row on the Tart cherry page · PubMed 19883392 (opens PubMed)