Abstract
Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is one of the oldest edible fruits in the Mediterranean area and has been used extensively in the folk medicine. Popularity of pomegranate has increased especially in the last decade because of the health effects of the fruit. Polyphenols, represent the predominant class of phytochemicals of pomegranate, mainly consisting of hydrolysable tannins and ellagic acid. Pomegranate is a rich source of the ellagitannin punicalagin, which has aroused considerable interest in pomegranate fruit as a new therapeutic agent in recent years. Most studies on the effects of pomegranate juice have focused on its ability to cure diabetes and atherosclerosis. The present review summarizes some recent studies on the vasculoprotective and neuroprotective effect of various parts of pomegranate and its main compounds especially hydrolysable tannins ellagitannins, ellagic acid and their metabolites. The in vitro and in vivo studies, showed that the whole parts of pomegranate as well as its main components had a positive influence on blood glucose, lipid levels, oxidation stress and neuro/inflammatory biomarkers. They could be used as a future therapeutic agent towards several vascular and neurodegenerative disorders such as hypertension, coronary heart disease and Alzheimer.
Highlights
Free radical reactions occur naturally in the human body
Differences in urolithin production, both quantity and chemical type, could explain, at least partly, the large variability in the health effects observed in vivo
pomegranate juice (PJ) concentrate reduced the activation of redox-sensitive genes (ELK-1 and p-JUN) and increased eNOS expression in cultured human coronary artery endothelial cells (EC) exposed to high shear stress in vitro [26]
Summary
Free radical reactions occur naturally in the human body. The harmful action of free radicals can be inhibited by antioxidant substances which scavenge them and detoxify the organism. Current research has confirmed that dietary antioxidants play an important role in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and cancers, neurodegenerative diseases and inflammation [2]. Popularity of pomegranate has increased in the last years because of anti-microbial, Pomegranate anti-viral, anti-cancer, anti-oxidant and anti-mutagenic effects of the fruit [3–5]. Pomegranate fruit is composed of three different parts: the seeds, the arils and the peels. The therapeutic properties have been reported mostly for pomegranate juice [8–11] increasing literature was found lately reporting the inhibition of lipid peroxidation of pomegranate peels and seeds [4, 12, 13]. Even a small number of clinical trials in humans have been reported until now, the results showed positive effects of pomegranate extracts on various vascular diseases
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