Pomegranate as a Potential Alternative of Pain Management: A Review.

José Antonio Guerrero-Solano,Claudia Velázquez-González,Minarda De La O-Arciniega,Gabriel Betanzos-Cabrera,Araceli Castañeda-Ovando,Mirandeli Bautista,Osmar Antonio Jaramillo-Morales

doi:10.3390/plants9040419

José Antonio Guerrero-Solano, Claudia Velázquez-González + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9040419

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Abstract

The use of complementary medicine has recently increased in an attempt to find effective alternative therapies that reduce the adverse effects of drugs. Punica granatum L. (pomegranate) has been used in traditional medicine for different kinds of pain. This review aims to explore the scientific evidence about the antinociceptive effect of pomegranate. A selection of original scientific articles that accomplished the inclusion criteria was carried out. It was found that different parts of pomegranate showed an antinociceptive effect; this effect can be due mainly by the presence of polyphenols, flavonoids, or fatty acids. It is suggested in the literature that the mechanisms of action may be related to the activation of the L-arginine / NO pathway, members of the TRP superfamily (TRPA1 or TRPV1) and the opioid system. The implications for the field are to know the mechanisms of action by which this effect is generated and thus be able to create alternative treatments for specific types of pain, which help alleviate it and reduce the adverse effects produced by drugs. The results propose that pomegranate and secondary metabolites could be considered in the treatment of inflammatory, nociceptive, and neuropathic pain.

Highlights

IntroductionPomegranate (Punica granatum L.), the name derived from the Latin “pomus” and “granum,”whose meaning is apple with grains, is the edible fruit of the pomegranate tree belonging to the Punicaceae family (this genus derives from the Phoenicians, who were active diffusers of their cultivation) [1]
Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.), the name derived from the Latin “pomus” and “granum,”whose meaning is apple with grains, is the edible fruit of the pomegranate tree belonging to the Punicaceae family [1]
Woolf [37] classified pain according to its neurophysiological mechanism as 1) Nociceptive; a transient pain in response to a noxious stimulus, 2) Inflammatory; a spontaneous and hypersensitivity to pain in response to tissue damage and inflammation, 3) Neuropathic; a spontaneous pain and hypersensitivity to pain in association with damage or injury to the nervous system and 4) Functional; hypersensitivity to pain resulting from abnormal central processing

Summary

Introduction

Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.), the name derived from the Latin “pomus” and “granum,”whose meaning is apple with grains, is the edible fruit of the pomegranate tree belonging to the Punicaceae family (this genus derives from the Phoenicians, who were active diffusers of their cultivation) [1]. Besides the input to the human diet of pomegranate fruit, other parts of the tree, like leaves, roots, or flowers have been used in traditional medicine in many cultures because of its beneficial effects on health [5]. The most widespread use in the world of Punica granatum fruit is as an antimicrobial agent [6,7]. This review is focused on the effect of pomegranate on different nociception models, the species was being used ancestrally for this purpose in traditional medicine. The objective is to carry out a document of the existing scientific literature, the interventions performed, comparisons, results, and study designs in which the analgesic effect suggested by traditional medicine was verified (the review includes reports of studies of the pomegranate tree, including all its parts)

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