HEALTH BENEFITS OF POMEGRANATE JUICE

There have been numerous studies touting the health benefits of consuming pomegranate juice and fruit. Researchers believe it is the antioxidants in pomegranates that may help in fighting diseases. Below are highlights of recent research studies.

• Pomegranate Fruit Extracts Slows Cartilage Deterioration in Osteoarthritis
• Pomegranate Juice and Ischemic Heart Disease
• Pomegranate Juice May Help to Prevent Prostate Cancer
• Drinking Pomegranate Juice During Pregnancy May Prevent Brain Damage in Babies

Pomegranate Fruit Extracts Slows Cartilage Deterioration in Osteoarthritis
A study published in the September 2005 issue of the Journal of Nutrition suggests that extracts from pomegranate fruit may slow cartilage degradation in osteoarthritis. According to researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine (Cleveland, Ohio), the study examined the effect of pomegranate fruit extract on Interleukin - 1b, a pro-inflammatory protein molecule that plays a role in cartilage degradation in osteoarthritis. The Interleukin protein molecules create an excessive production of inflammatory molecules including matrix metalloproteases (MMP). When excessive levels of MMP are produced in a disease state, such as osteoarthritis, they degrade the cartilage which results in joint damage and destruction. Results of the study indicate that pomegranate fruit extracts inhibit the overproduction of MMP enzymes in human cartilage cells. An abstract of the article in the Journal of Nutrition (Volume 135:2096-2102) can be accessed at: www.nutrition.org.

Pomegranate Juice and Ischemic Heart Disease
Research published in the September 2005 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology (Volume 96:810-844) examined the effect of pomegranate juice on patients with ischemic coronary heart disease. Research performed by scientists at the University of California School of Medicine, The Preventive Medicine Research Institute and the California Pacific Medical Center suggests daily consumption of pomegranate juice for three months may improve stress-induced myocardial ischemia in patients with ischemic coronary heart disease. During the study, 45 participants, all of whom had ischemic coronary heart disease and myocardial ischemia, were divided into two groups. One group received 250ml (8.5 oz) pomegranate juice each day for three months, and the other received the same amount of a placebo drink with a similar caloric content, flavor and color. The results showed that blood flow to the heart improved by about 17 percent in the pomegranate group and declined by 18 percent in the placebo group. A copy of the study is available at: www.ajconline.org.

Pomegranate Juice May Help to Prevent Prostate Cancer
Results of research on the effects of pomegranate juice on prostate cancer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School indicate that pomegranate juice "shows major promise to combat prostrate cancer, the most common invasive cancer and second-leading cause of cancer death in American men." The research study was undertaken to evaluate whether the extract from pomegranates would not only kill existing cancer, but help prevent cancer from starting or progressing. Using human prostate cancer cells, the researchers evaluated the fruit extract's effect, at various doses, on those cells cultured in the laboratory. They found that the higher the dose of pomegranate extract the cells received, the more cells died. The researchers also evaluated the effect of pomegranate extract on mice that had been injected with prostrate cancer cells from humans and developed malignancies. Mice receiving the higher concentrations of pomegranate extract showed significant slowing of their cancer progression and a decrease in the levels of prostrate-specific antigen, a marker used to indicate the presence of prostate cancer in humans. The study was published in the September 28, 2005 online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which is accessible at: www.pnas.org.

Drinking Pomegranate Juice During Pregnancy May Prevent Brain Damage in Babies
Research at the Washington University School of Medicine (St. Louis, Missouri) suggests that drinking pomegranate juice during pregnancy may reduce hypoxia ischemia-related brain injuries in babies. Hypoxia ischemia is a condition caused by a decrease in blood flow and oxygen to the baby's brain. During the study, researchers temporarily lowered brain oxygen levels and brain blood flow in newborn mice whose mothers had been given pomegranate juice. Results of the study indicate brain tissue loss was reduced by more than 60 percent in the brains of mice whose mothers consumed the pomegranate juice. The study was published in the June 2005 issue of Pediatric Research (57:858-864) and an abstract is available at: www.pedresearch.org.

Other studies regarding the health benefits of pomegranate juice include the following:

• "Pomegranate juice inhibits oxidized LDL uptake and cholesterol biosynthesis in macrophages." Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, September 2005; 16:570-576. A copy of the abstract is available at: www.sciencedirect.com.
• "Oxidative stress in arteriogenic erectile dysfunction: prophylactic role of antioxidants." Journal of Urology, July 2005; 174:386-393. A copy of the abstract can be obtained at: www.jurology.com.