Novel insights in health-promoting properties of sweet cherries

[Display omitted] •Cherries’ cyanidin-3-glucoside display anticancer activity through multiple pathways.•Cherry extract reduces the viability of neoplastic and non-neoplastic cell lines.•Cherry extracts reduce formation of multinucleated osteoclasts in obese children PBMCs.•Sweet cherry promotes active glucose consumption by HepG2 cells. Sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) is one of the most popular and appreciated temperate fruit not only for its sensory and nutritional properties, but also for its content in bioactive compounds. Consumption of sweet cherries brings beneficial effects on to health, which include prevention and modulatory effects in several chronic diseases such as (diabetes mellitus, cancer, cardiovascular and other inflammatory diseases). The presence of natural polyphenolic compounds with high antioxidant potential might drive and partly explain such beneficial effects, but more translational and clinical studies should address this topic. Here, we review the health-promoting properties of cherries and their bioactive compounds against human diseases.