Updated November 2026. Label facts checked on 5 and 6 November 2026 on each brand's own site or a UK retailer's listing. Verve makes Eclipse Duo, which is described near the end.
Montmorency is a variety of sour, or tart, cherry (Prunus cerasus), named after Montmorency, north of Paris. More than 95% of North American tart cherries are Montmorency, Michigan grows the most, and it is also grown in the UK and Europe. UK shops sell it as juice, concentrate, dried fruit, powder and capsules, each labelled differently. A capsule line such as "10:1 extract, 140mg eq. to 1400mg" means 140mg of extract made from about 1,400mg of fruit. The sugar is in the juice: one UK concentrate lists 20.4g of sugars per 30ml serving. There are no authorised health claims for Montmorency cherry in Great Britain, so this guide covers the fruit and the label only.
The short answer
- Montmorency is one variety of tart cherry. Not every tart cherry is Montmorency.
- Concentrate is labelled in millilitres, with a dilution such as 30ml in 240ml of water.
- "140mg eq. to 1400mg" is 140mg of extract. 1,400mg is the fruit used to make it.
- The same front-of-pack number can hide different extracts. Two UK capsule products both say 6000mg: one capsule of a 50:1 extract, or two capsules of a 30:1.
- Juice sugars count as free sugars. The NHS limit for adults is 30g a day.
- From Verve: Verve Eclipse Duo, two evening formulas, Twilight and Midnight, with every dose on the label: magnesium 200mg (54% NRV), zinc 5mg (50%) and vitamin B6 2mg (142%) per serving, plus each botanical by weight and extract ratio.
What Montmorency cherry is
The RHS lists it as Prunus cerasus 'Montmorency'. Good Fruit Grower, the US orchard trade magazine, says it is thought to come from the Montmorency Valley north of Paris and reached North America with French settlers around 1760. It is an amarelle, the lighter red type of sour cherry, rather than the dark morello.
Good Fruit Grower puts Montmorency at more than 95% of North American tart cherries, with Michigan holding about 24,000 of the roughly 37,000 acres of US tart cherry orchards. In the UK, the Woodland Trust says sour cherry is planted widely and names Montmorency among the cultivars grown commercially. Nurseries such as Arundel Arboretum in West Sussex grow the tree. We found no figure for UK commercial production.
"Tart cherry" and "sour cherry" both mean Prunus cerasus. A label without the word "Montmorency" may be another variety: one UK freeze-dried sour cherry powder we read names none and gives Poland as its origin.
How UK labels state the amount
Concentrate is labelled in millilitres with a dilution, juice by bottle volume, dried fruit and powder in grams. For dried fruit, read the ingredients: anything besides cherries was added. Capsules give milligrams of powder, or milligrams of extract with a ratio and an "eq. to" figure. These are label statements from the pages we read, not recommendations.
| Product | Label wording | Per serving | What the figure is |
|---|---|---|---|
| CherryActive concentrate | "100% concentrated Montmorency cherry juice" | 30ml in 240ml of water | Volume of concentrate |
| Biona Organic tart cherry juice | "Cherry juice (not from concentrate)". Variety not named | Not set | Volume |
| Sussex Wholefoods powder | "100% Freeze dried sour cherry". Variety not named | Not stated | Weight of powder |
| Simply Supplements Tart Cherry | "Montmorency Cherry Powder (Prunus cerasus L, Fruit)" | 450mg, one capsule | Weight of powder |
| WeightWorld Montmorency Cherry | "Montmorency Cherry Extract 120mg (50:1)" | One capsule, "equivalent to 6000mg" | 120mg of extract |
| New Leaf Montmorency Cherry 6000mg | "Montmorency Cherry 30:1 Extract" | Two capsules, "3000mg of Montmorency Cherry per capsule" | Fruit equivalent: about 100mg of extract a capsule (our calculation) |
| Verve Eclipse Duo (Twilight) | "Montmorency Cherry (Prunus cerasus) 10:1 Extract" | Two capsules, 140mg (eq. to 1400mg) | 140mg of extract |
So extract products give about 120mg to 200mg of extract a daily serving (70mg to 120mg a capsule), stated as 1,400mg to 6,000mg of fruit. The powder capsule holds 450mg, with no ratio because nothing was extracted. The capsule labels advise checking with a doctor or healthcare professional first if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or under medical supervision.
What "eq. to" means, and why 140mg is not 1,400mg
An extract is made by soaking fruit in a solvent and drying what dissolves. A 2022 review in Frontiers in Pharmacology (Monagas and colleagues) explains the ratio: a 10:1 dry extract means about 10g of dried raw material gave about 1g of extract. "Eq. to" is the extract weight times the ratio: 140mg x 10 = 1,400mg. That is not 1,400mg of powder.
- The capsule holds 140mg. 1,400mg is the fruit used to make it.
- Extraction is selective. The review says composition "may vary significantly depending on the extraction solvent(s)", and on temperature, time and drying.
- A higher ratio is not a stronger extract. The review calls that a common misconception. The ratio is a yield.
- Carriers change the ratio. Adding the same weight of carrier, such as maltodextrin, turns a 4:1 extract into 2:1 with no change to the fruit used.
- The basis is dried fruit, and fresh cherries are mostly water. Most labels do not say which basis they used.
Sugar: juice against capsules
One UK retailer's listing of CherryActive concentrate gives 20.4g of sugars per 30ml serving and another gives 60g per 100g. We could not read the brand's own page, so check the bottle. The NHS counts the sugars in unsweetened fruit juice as free sugars, says adults should have no more than 30g of free sugars a day, and says to keep juice and smoothies to 150ml a day. One 30ml serving is about two-thirds of that 30g (our calculation). Sussex Wholefoods' sour cherry powder lists 52g of sugars per 100g. None of the capsule labels we read lists sugar, and Twilight's 140mg of extract caps any natural sugar at 140mg.
How to read a certificate of analysis for a fruit extract
A certificate of analysis (CoA) is the laboratory report for one batch. One published certificate for a US-sold tart cherry extract (Nootropics Depot, lot TTCS1021225) shows what to read.
- Plant and part: "Prunus cerasus, Fruit", identity checked by HPTLC fingerprint. No variety is named, so "Montmorency" on a label is the brand's statement.
- Standardisation: "minimum 10% anthocyanins", the fruit's red pigments, by UPLC, result 10%. No ratio is given. A ratio alone says nothing about any marker compound.
- Heavy metals: lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury by ICP-MS, all below 0.1ppm against a 0.5ppm limit.
- Gaps: no microbiology, pesticide or solvent results, and no carrier or extraction solvent stated. Ask for what is missing.
Verve Eclipse Duo: the Montmorency line
Eclipse Duo is two products taken together: Twilight (two capsules) and Midnight (two capsules). Twilight lists "Montmorency Cherry (Prunus cerasus) 10:1 Extract 140mg (eq. to 1400mg)" per two-capsule serving. Verve's nutrition summary table shows the cherry as "1,400mg", which is the fruit equivalent; the ingredients table gives the 140mg in the capsules. The page states no standardisation, carrier, solvent or certificate for the extract, and it has no NRV (see what NRV means). Twilight also lists L-theanine 150mg, five botanical extracts, zinc 5mg (50% NRV) and vitamin B6 2mg (142% NRV). Midnight holds magnesium 200mg (54% NRV) and five botanical and mushroom extracts.
Take two Twilight capsules with water one hour before bed, and two Midnight capsules at bedtime. 30 nights per pack. Do not exceed the recommended daily dose. The page's cautions: may cause drowsiness, so don't drive or operate machinery after taking it. Contains chamomile, lemon balm and passionflower: avoid if you react to chamomile or plants in the daisy family. If you take sedatives, sleep medication or antidepressants, check with your doctor first. If you're pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or have a medical condition, check with your doctor first. Not suitable for children. Keep out of reach of children. The full label is on the Eclipse Duo page.
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Montmorency cherry: your questions
What is Montmorency cherry?
A variety of sour, or tart, cherry (Prunus cerasus), named after Montmorency, north of Paris. It makes up more than 95% of North American tart cherries and is also grown in the UK and Europe.
Is Montmorency cherry the same as tart cherry?
It is one variety of tart cherry. A label that says only "tart cherry" may be another variety, such as a morello.
What does 10:1 extract mean?
About 10 parts of dried fruit made 1 part of extract. So 140mg of a 10:1 extract is labelled "eq. to 1400mg", but the capsule holds 140mg.
How much Montmorency cherry is in a capsule?
On the UK labels we read, about 70mg to 120mg of extract a capsule (120mg to 200mg a daily serving, stated as 1,400mg to 6,000mg of fruit), or 450mg of powder. Read the ingredients list, not the front of the pack.
Juice or capsules: what is the difference on the label?
Juice is labelled by volume and carries sugar: one UK concentrate lists 20.4g per 30ml. Capsules are labelled in milligrams, list no sugar, and give a powder weight or an extract weight with a ratio.
How we checked
Variety and growing: the RHS plant entry for Prunus cerasus 'Montmorency'; Good Fruit Grower, "A tart cherry of French heritage"; the Woodland Trust's sour cherry page; Arundel Arboretum. Extract ratios: Monagas M and colleagues, "Understanding plant to extract ratios in botanical extracts", Frontiers in Pharmacology 2022;13:981978. Sugars: NHS, "How does sugar in our diet affect our health?", last reviewed 19 May 2023. We found no NHS page on Montmorency cherry. Labels: weightworld.uk; simplysupplements.co.uk; New Leaf on superdrug.com; CherryActive on healthysupplies.co.uk and naturaldispensary.co.uk; Biona on plantx.uk; Sussex Wholefoods on healthysupplies.co.uk. Certificate: Nootropics Depot, lot TTCS1021225. Verve: the Eclipse Duo label table and product page. All read on 5 and 6 November 2026. No prices are compared. Other brands are named for comparison only. Verve makes Eclipse Duo.
