The Pomegranate: Effects on Bacteria and Viruses That Influence Human Health

Amy B Howell,Doris H D'Souza

doi:10.1155/2013/606212

Abstract

Pomegranates have been known for hundreds of years for their multiple health benefits, including antimicrobial activity. The recent surge in multidrug-resistant bacteria and the possibility of widespread global virus pandemics necessitate the need for additional preventative and therapeutic options to conventional drugs. Research indicates that pomegranates and their extracts may serve as natural alternatives due to their potency against a wide range of bacterial and viral pathogens. Nearly every part of the pomegranate plant has been tested for antimicrobial activities, including the fruit juice, peel, arils, flowers, and bark. Many studies have utilized pomegranate peel with success. There are various phytochemical compounds in pomegranate that have demonstrated antimicrobial activity, but most of the studies have found that ellagic acid and larger hydrolyzable tannins, such as punicalagin, have the highest activities. In some cases the combination of the pomegranate constituents offers the most benefit. The positive clinical results on pomegranate and suppression of oral bacteria are intriguing and worthy of further study. Much of the evidence for pomegranates' antibacterial and antiviral activities against foodborne pathogens and other infectious disease organisms comes from in vitro cell-based assays, necessitating further confirmation of in vivo efficacy through human clinical trials.

Highlights

Pomegranates and Their Effects on Human BacteriaPomegranates (Punica granatum L.) have a long history of antibacterial use dating back to biblical times
Methanol extracts of the fruit, especially the peel, exhibit the broadest antibacterial activity [3,4,5,6,7,8] (Table 1), which can vary depending on the pomegranate variety tested [9]
Methanol extracts of pomegranate are high in hydrolyzable tannins, ellagic acid, a component of ellagitannins, and gallic acid, a component of gallotannins [10] (Figure 1)

Summary

Introduction

Limited studies have been conducted on the antiviral activities associated with pomegranate and its extracts. Natural antimicrobials from plant extracts have become increasingly popular for use as alternative antivirals [57,58,59,60]. The increased research and need for such alternatives are based on the many advantages of natural plant antimicrobials. These include the absence of reported/ observed toxic effects at recommended doses along with additional benefits such as antioxidant, anticancer, antiinflammatory, and antimicrobial properties [3, 10, 39, 52, 53, 56, 61,62,63,64]. It is possible that pomegranate juice and extracts could be potentially useful in inhibiting viruses transmitted via infected food products, bodily fluids, and so forth

Evidence for Pomegranate in Controlling Bacteria That Affect the Human Body

Evidence for Pomegranate in Controlling

Findings

Conclusions